Horatio Sanz Accused of Grooming, Sexually Assaulting Underage Fan

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Horatio Sanz accused of grooming and sexually assaulting underage fan https://t.co/EVNrtloiDV pic.twitter.com/aAYt3t9oDp
- The A.V. Club (@TheAVClub) August 13, 2021

Saturday Night Live alum Horatio Sanz is being sued by a Pennsylvania woman who says he sexually assaulted her in 2002, when she was 17 years old. The women (identified in the suit as "Jane Doe") is also suing NBCUniversal and SNL Studios, alleging both entities were aware of Sanz's behavior toward her and that multiple employees knew she was underage at the time. Jimmy Fallon is not a defendant, but is mentioned by name in the lawsuit and was allegedly complicit in Sanz's grooming and subsequent assault of Doe. Details of the suit are under the cut as they may be triggering.

• Jane Doe and Horatio Sanz allegedly met in the early 2000s, when Doe was a teenager and frequented SNL fan sites; she claims she was 15 years old when Sanz and Fallon first reached out to her, sending her the first of several emails from their official NBC email accounts, and this is allegedly when Sanz began his process of grooming her. That process began in earnest in 2001, when Doe got access to an SNL after-party and was served alcohol despite being 16 at the time.
• Following that, Sanz allegedly began putting her on after-party lists regularly, encouraging her to drink, and engaging in long AOL Instant Messenger conversations that he repeatedly steered in a sexual direction by asking her for sexually explicit photographs.
• Then, at a party in 2002, Sanz allegedly "groped her breasts and butt and digitally penetrated her without her consent." Fallon is called out by name as knowing she was a junior in high school while drinking in his company; the suit also alleges that multiple NBC/SNL employees knew she was underage and drinking at these parties (as well as knowing about Sanz's behavior) and did nothing.
• Doe says she struggled for several years in the aftermath of the assault, and that Sanz admitted to having had "cybersex" with her when they spoke about the incidents in 2019. The lawsuit also quotes multiple text messages allegedly exchanged with Sanz in which he says he's "feeling terrible" about their past interactions and that he's since changed as a person.

Sanz has denied the allegations in a statement through his lawyer, calling them "categorically false" and claiming Doe previously demanded money in exchange for her silence.

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