Trigger Warning: The content of this article may upset survivors of rape and sexual assault, with links to detailed stories.
Twitter users @tiffanynonaka (Tiffany), and @Rude_girrl (Alice) have come forward with allegations of sexual assault by producer and DJ Graves from Honolulu.
Tiffany, the first survivor to come forward, says she was 22 when she met Graves, calling him out by his real name, Christian Mochizuki. She wrote in a tweet on June 10 that she felt confident sharing her story after Twitter users also came forward with their stories.
“I don’t want these kind of guys to create any more victims or let them get away with these kinds of things,” she wrote. “After I saw numerous stories on social media, it gave me the courage to share my own.”
Tiffany shared a separate encounter of rape when she was 19, the first time she moved to Hawaii and prior to meeting Mochizuki.
The male, whom she also called out by name, took advantage of her while she was severely intoxicated. Three years after breaking up with her now ex-boyfriend, she met Mochizuki when he expressed interest in getting to know her.
When she and Graves met for the second time, Tiffany says she was sexually assaulted after telling him “no” several times.
“He kept pushing it when I said no,” she wrote. “I’ve clearly said no countless of times making excuses but he refused to stop.”
Read her full story below:
Twitter user @Rude_girrl shared her story with Tiffany, who tweeted screenshots without revealing Alice’s name and only being called “Victim #1.” Alice revealed her identity after retweeting the screenshots from Tiffany’s account.
Alice says she was only 15 when Mochizuki, then a few years her senior out of high school, forced himself on her after offering to give her a ride home. Graves allegedly picked her up from hanging out with friends and drove her to a different location that night instead.
“I had never been a situation where a guy had ever taken advantage of me,” she wrote.
Alice added that she wasn’t the only girl who had similar encounters with Mochizuki.
Read her story below:
Tiffany also shared stories of two other survivors, both of whom had met Mochizuki through music events. He gained their trust and allegedly forced himself on them before causing them pain “physically, emotionally and mentally.”
Read their stories below:
Screenshots of text conversations reportedly show Mochizuki having reached out to his followers and to the survivors, tweeting an apology before his account was deleted, EDMTunes reported. As of this writing, his Instagram account is deleted but his Facebook page remains active.
In one of the messages, Mochizuki reportedly wrote that he was “crushed” by the trauma he created.
“I thought our physical relationship was totally consensual,” he wrote. “I realize now my actions were inappropriate, violating and totally unacceptable.”
See the Twitter apology below:
Alice reached out to Mochizuki last year, telling him that she was going to write about her experience as a survivor. He did not respond.
She shared another story on Wednesday on Instagram about not being supported by a close friend after telling him about the assault.
It was only after she shared her post did Mochizuki, now known as DJ Graves, reached out to her to apologize. He told Alice that he was unaware of her part of the story.
“I’m sorry for any pain that I’ve caused you because of my actions I know saying sorry doesn’t fix anything but I just wanna say it to you,” he wrote.
Other well-known DJs in the community tweeted their support for the survivors. Some took down music they collaborated with Graves on from major streaming platforms.
over the past 3 years, Christian aka Graves became one of my close friends, which makes this even more shocking & devastating to learn
i believe the brave women that came forward, and my heart goes out to them. i commend them for speaking out and holding Christian accountable
— Litty Kitty — BLACK LIVES MATTER (@HexCougar) June 11, 2020
It takes courage for the women to share the stories about graves. To be vulnerable to the opinions of others so that other victims can heal and speak, and I hope future abuse be stopped as men learn (what they ought know already) about consent, about respect, about consequence.
— K R A N E (@KRANEmusic) June 12, 2020
no means no, it really isn’t that hard to understand
— TISOKI (@tisoki) June 11, 2020
Within minutes of hearing the news I began the process of removing our song from my Spotify, Apple Music, etc. I will not tolerate having a song with an abuser.
— MAX STYLER (@maxstylermusic) June 12, 2020
Alice told NextShark that she has not gone to the authorities, bu instead wants survivors to feel relief that Mochizuki would get what he deserved and for him to get the help he needed. She wants him to be “a better human being,” especially for his son.
“I’m a parent myself, and I decided to tell my truth because I wanted to set myself free. I wanted to start my process of finally healing so I can be the best version of myself,” she said.
The DJ also allegedly left more survivors in his wake in the decade since Alice had met him in high school.
“When I heard what had happened to Tiffany, I knew I had to come forward too. I had stayed silent for too long,” she said. “I cried for hours on end thinking about how I could’ve saved or prevented so many other victims if I had spoken up about my experience with Christian.
“I just knew it was the right time and I spoke my truth.”
If you are a survivor of sexual assault or know someone who is, call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline online at 1-800-656-4673.
Feature Image via wearegraves
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to correctly report that Graves’ ethnicity is not Hawaiian.
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