Examining Sascha Riley’s audio recordings alleging abuse by Epstein, Trump

In January 2026, online users shared a set of audio recordings alleging child sex trafficking, physical assault and child pornography, as well as the murder of children, in the 1970s and 1980s by future American leaders. No credible evidence supported the allegations.

The claims involved a boy social media users referred to as “Sasha” or “Sascha Riley,” as well as U.S. President Donald Trump; convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein; Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz.; Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio; Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. 

The unsubstantiated allegations claimed some of the men sexually assaulted the boy (for the purpose of this article, we’ll refer to that person as “Barros”), that the boy once injured Trump and that Trump himself actually led the efforts behind Epstein’s sex crimes with Epstein simply presented as the public face of the operation.

Numerous users posted about the allegations in the audio recordings on Bluesky (archived), Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived), LinkedIn (archived), Reddit (archived), Threads (archived), TikTok, X (archived) and YouTube. Snopes readers also emailed us about these claims, including one who wrote, “Please comment on validity of the Sascha Riley Barros’ recordings that are popping up across social media but not on major news outlets.”

Snopes listened to all four-plus hours of the audio interviews in which Barros detailed the alleged crimes at the hands of American politicians. In the months and years before those recordings published, Barros, who uses they/them pronouns, posted some of the major allegations on their Facebook and X accounts, as well. 

If the allegations had merit, there would be at least some evidence of the purported crimes other than Barros’ testimony, such as witness testimonies, court records, police reports or newspaper articles. We have yet to locate any such records.

The allegations gained widespread internet attention in early 2026 when a blogger posted the audio recordings on her Substack titled “Outlaws of Chivalry.” That writer, Lisa Voldeng, emailed the following statement in response to our request for more information to independently verify the claims:

The truth speaks for itself. I stand with survivors. Justice will not wait.

I published my Outlaws of Chivalry briefing with unredacted audio of my interviews with Sascha, so individuals longing for justice, could read and listen unfettered, and discern the truth so long concealed, themselves.

We attempted to reach Barros via Facebook Messenger. Voldeng told us by email she would put us in touch with them. We will update this article if or when that happens.

This report does not not attempt to fact-check whether Barros experienced sexual assault and/or trafficking during their life, but instead attempts to discern the credibility of Barros’ stories involving prominent people, such as Trump and Epstein, specifically.

We also emailed the White House to respond to the allegations against Trump, as well as the Supreme Court since the claims included Thomas. We reached out to the offices of Biggs, Jordan and Graham for the same reason. We will update this article if we receive responses.

A sample of claims

On Nov. 23, 2025, Voldeng published an article (archived) featuring six audio clips of Barros that she said were recorded in July 2025. Barros said in the recordings that their legal name is William Sascha Riley but that they go by their birth name, Manuel Sascha Barros.

In the interviews, Barros claimed a man named William Kyle Riley adopted them in 1978 and trafficked them as a child. To vet that story, we attempted to call, email and message (via Facebook Messenger) someone with that name but we did not receive a response.

Some social media users noted that a person named William or Bill Riley appears in several (Page 28) documents (Page 19) released by federal authorities related to Epstein’s crimes. That is accurate, though we did not uncover any evidence to confirm Barros’ allegations against a person by that name.

In the audio clips, Barros identified themself as an Army veteran. We requested from Barros (via Voldeng) a form they referenced in the audio recordings to confirm their military service and will update this article if we receive a copy of the document.

Among the many allegations, Barros told a story about another soldier who supposedly possessed child pornography with Barros as a victim. Barros claimed that, in 2008 or 2009, they visited the office of their commanding officer, where a “red-faced” man — identified as 1st Sgt. Michael Balis — said, “We have found some images that are of a sexually explicit nature on another soldier’s computer. And they look like you.”

By email, Balis confirmed to Snopes that a soldier was found in possession of child pornography around that time. He also confirmed there was a conversation about a sexually explicit video of a boy resembling Barros. According to Balis, the commanding officer asked some of the questions Barros mentioned.

The writer behind the Substack blog

As of this writing, Voldeng nor Barros provided definitive evidence regarding the allegations against prominent men, such as Trump, Epstein and Thomas.

Barros said in the first recording, “I know that me speaking up is one thing, but the verification process is important, too.” In the fifth recording, Voldeng said she was looking to establish a “starting point in terms of an investigation.”

In the recordings, Voldeng and Barros discussed tracking down old police reports and archives from a closed or renamed Charter Woods Hospital in Dothan, Alabama, as well as contacting former Army service members to corroborate the claims.

By phone, Voldeng, who said she resides in Canada, told Snopes she was working on a follow-up to her original article featuring the Barros’ recordings, and that that second post would map “selected incidents to supporting evidence.”

“There’s been a lot of vetting,” Voldeng said, adding that when she first spoke to Barros, she requested their military records and the hospital record.

She said Barros attempted and failed to obtain a 1989 record from Charter Woods Hospital purportedly containing Barros’ documented words about the allegations against Trump. “Apparently, when the hospital was closed, there [were] records somewhere. There likely could be a box of records sitting somewhere in a basement, but we’ve experienced difficulties obtaining those. That would require some sort of boots-on-ground research in those towns.” Voldeng said.

“I’m not a journalist. I’ve never worked as a journalist,” said Voldeng, who lists work history on LinkedIn. “I founded a lot of companies. I worked as a CEO [and] an industry analyst forecaster.”

Voldeng told us she asked Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden’s office and Democrats with the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for help obtaining evidence, citing her fears over the FBI potentially confiscating and tampering with documentation that she and Barros sought. (We emailed the offices of Wyden and Rep. Robert Garcia of California — the ranking Democrat on the House oversight committee — to confirm the correspondence and ask if anything came of it, and we will update this article if we learn more.)

In short, Snopes reviewed Barros’ allegations against Epstein, Trump and other prominent Republican figures and did not uncover any evidence to confirm the claims.