Introduction
As we were driving to Dublin Airport the morning of 2 April 2026 to pick up Sacha Barros Riley, Peter interrupted our usual banter to talk to me seriously about being careful with money around Sascha. He recommended that I not discuss my financial situation and that I not offer any monetary assistance. Peter said that offering Sascha a place to stay should be the extent of my generosity.
I interrupted Peter to admit it was possible that Sascha might not be sound. Peter is the epitome of what it means to be sound, he is the most reliable, trustworthy, genuine person I know. I was feeling self-conscious about the possibility I was duped by the social media whirlwind surrounding Sascha, and I wanted Peter to know I acknowledged the potential mistake being made in real time. Fessing up to Peter didn’t make me feel better.
There was something about the private texts Sascha sent me the previous weekend that seemed odd. He* sent me a text about being on Kathy Griffin’s YouTube channel rather than sending me his flight information so I’d know what day he was arriving. I assumed Sascha wasn’t sending me certain information in order to keep his whereabouts and plans secret – but he was doing other things that didn’t add up.
(*For any of Sascha’s followers questioning my use of male pronouns, this will be explained in chapter 4)
I couldn’t understand why he moved our conversation to unencrypted phone texts rather than using an app with end-to-end encryption, but when I asked about it, he ignored my question. I assumed he knew what he was doing so I followed his lead rather than be annoying. I’m often too anal about things, and I made the effort not to be in this situation, partially because I didn’t want to come across as a Nervous Nelly and partially because how Sascha decided to do things was really none of my business. Sascha and I had no relationship of any kind other than me offering him a room in my rented bungalow until he could find permanent or long term housing because of the crippling housing crisis here in Ireland.
I had considered backing out and telling Sascha he couldn’t stay in the house, but the thought of going back on my word felt worse than going through with letting him use the room. I’ve had roommates all my life, some of them have turned out to be duds, but you get on with things, especially when there isn’t an underlying relationship. This wasn’t a permanent situation. How bad could it be?
I was grateful Peter was helping. I wasn’t going to be able to let anyone else know that Sascha was staying with me (for his safety), but I needed Sascha to know that at least one other person would be around and know what was going on for my safety. Peter doesn’t live with me, but he’s a significant presence in my life.
Peter and I got to Dublin airport about an hour before Sascha’s plane landed. We got coffee, and Peter did some work. While we were waiting, I stumbled on Sascha’s Thread post from 31 March:
Seeing this threw me. My foreboding wasn’t just nerves. I did not know what Sascha looked like until I saw this photo. I was concerned about being able to find him in the airport. Now anyone who saw this would be able to recognise him.
As a social media marketer, I know that posts with more than 5 thousand likes get hundreds of thousands of views.
There was something more that bothered me but I couldn’t articulate what. My eyes clocked something my brain couldn’t process.
If there had been any danger following him, Sascha’s behaviour was risky, not merely for him but for me and Peter. Had Sascha considered that? I felt as if I was more concerned about his safety than he was about all of ours. It reverberated like a bad note played loudly over the tinny Cranberries, U2, Van Morisson welcome mix on the airport sound system.
What I was seeing, but wouldn’t understand until weeks later, was that the picture was a projection. After spending almost a month with Sascha and having no vested interest in him personally or professionally, it became clear to me that Sascha projects a kind of naked bravado to the world online, but what I experienced behind the screen on a daily basis was a man who is faint of heart and in need of significant help.
***
For readers not familiar with Sascha’s back story, Sascha alleges he was a victim of a child trafficking ring that included high-profile figures such as Donald Trump and the late Jeffrey Epstein. He also named politicians Lindsey Graham, Jim Jordan, Andy Biggs, and Clarence Thomas in his claims.
In late 2025 and early 2026, audio recordings of Lisa Voldeng interviewing Sascha were released, primarily through a Substack publication entitled, Don’t Worry, Boys Are Hard To Find, which went viral on social media garnering Sascha 500,000 Threads followers. The Substack gained 77,000 subscribers and vaulted Lisa Voldeng’s Substack to #19 on Substack’s International Bestsellers list.
Among many shocking claims, Sascha alleges that in retaliation for being sexually assaulted by Donald Trump, Sascha covered a tent peg with a condom and kicked into Trumps anus causing physical damage.
It is crucial to understand that none of Sascha's allegations have been verified by law enforcement, major news organizations, or the courts. Sascha’s story was refuted by Brandy Zadrozny’s MSN Now article. (The MSN article was published a week after Sascha moved into my house.) Lisa Voldeng also published a follow up 19 June 2026 on Substack that refutes Sascha’s claims about his involvement with child sexual materials found by the US military.
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I had no idea what was in store that morning in the airport. I am writing about what I observed and experienced, what Sascha told me, and how this absurd situation affected and transformed me, and what it means for the public to believe…anything.
Many names have been changed to protect my friends and family.