Editor's note: This story contains explicit text messages and descriptions of alleged sexual assault. It may not be suitable for all readers.
NANTUCKET, Mass. - Text messages sent by Kevin Spacey's accuser show a pattern of behavior inconsistent with someone who was being sexually assaulted, according to the Hollywood star's attorney.
In a court filing seeking access to the accuser's cellphone, which they say is missing, attorney Alan Jackson outlines conversations between William Little and his friends that Jackson says indicate Little stayed at the bar despite Spacey's advances.
The phone has been a central issue in the case against Spacey, who pleaded not guilty in January to a charge of indecent assault and battery. Spacey's lawyers have demanded access to it so they can try to recover text messages they say would support Spacey's claims of innocence.
The case first came to light in 2017, when former Boston TV anchor Heather Unruh said Spacey got her then 18-year-old son drunk and then sexually assaulted him at the Club Car, a popular bar and restaurant on the resort island. It's the only criminal case that has been brought against Spacey since several sexual misconduct allegations crippled his career in 2017.
Jackson said at a hearing this month that Unruh told authorities she removed anything concerning her son's "frat boy activities" from his phone before handing it over to investigators in 2017.
In the motion supplement filed Wednesday, Jackson says Little's messages in the screenshot he shared with police begin with an out-of-context statement that indicates messages had been deleted.
"He's hanging around me in the bar. He got my number and asked me to come out with him," Little allegedly told his then-girlfriend, according to the court filing. Jackson says that was clearly not the beginning of the conversation.
According to the filing, Little told his then-girlfriend via text messages that Spacey had "grab[bed his] leg and shit; grabbed [his dick] like 8 times; pulled [his] zipper down; and reached down [his] pants."
Jackson writes, "Mr. Little never uses any language to indicate the interaction was unwelcome. Rather than telling Mr. [Spacey] to stop (i.e. communicating lack of consent), Mr. Little shockingly ended his conversation with [his girlfriend], stating, 'Kevin Spacey is gay...Check snap...I'm gonna get the pic...I got the autographs and a hell of a story."
Jackson contends the metadata associated with the messages -- including the times they were sent -- are important to his case.
He notes a series of text messages apparently sent without a response in the screenshot shared with police, in which, he contends, Litle appears to be responding to messages that aren't there.
"No, I'm serious. One sec. I'm calling my mom. I'm serious. I'm dead serious. I swear on everyone. Ask [girlfriend]. I'm [not] fucking around. I'm drunk but I'm not fucking around." the filing lists.
Jackson argues these messages are in response to omitted texts sent by his friends.
"The screenshots produced by the Commonwealth suggest that additional communications on Mr. Little's cellphone will reveal the truth: Mr. Little concocted and exaggerated elements of a story to impress his friends," Jackson writes.
Attorney Mitchell Garabedian said in court documents filed Wednesday that neither Spacey's accuser nor his parents have been able to find the phone. Garabedian says they're using an expert to search for backups of the phone.
The judge is giving them until July 8 to look for the phone.
MORE: Kevin Spacey accuser's phone sought by defense is missing
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Cox Media Group