USA/CZECH REPUBLIC: The attorney for magician David Copperfield rejects allegations of rape, saying they are false

Record ID: 190224

  • Title: USA/CZECH REPUBLIC: The attorney for magician David Copperfield rejects allegations of rape, saying they are false
  • Date: 31st October 2007
  • Summary: PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC (FILE) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF COPPERFIELD ON STAGE DURING HIS EUROPEAN TOUR 'AN INTIMATE EVENING OF GRAND ILLUSION' IN 2004'
  • Embargoed: 15th November 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA3MS5OWUAEKGTK7NFL1ZN4BTB2
  • Story Text: David Chesnoff, attorney for David Copperfield, on Monday (October 29) said that allegations which were improperly leaked by federal officials to the Seattle Times and appeared in a Saturday story in that paper are false.

    "David Copperfield has never struck, forced himself or threatened any woman," Mr. Chesnoff said. "If some woman told anyone that he did, then she is not being truthful."
    Mr. Chesnoff said that these are not the first allegations leaked in this case which turned out to be untrue.

    "The media previously reported that the FBI seized USD 2 million in cash from Mr. Copperfield's Las Vegas warehouse," he said, "only to be contradicted subsequently by an FBI statement that the media reports were untrue and that USD 2 million was neither found nor seized.

    "We have been asked to respect the confidentiality of the investigation, but clearly law enforcement officials are not doing the same.
    At least three federal officials have been cited as sources in a Saturday Seattle Times story containing information about allegations being made. This not only unfairly and falsely defames my client, but it undermines the integrity of the entire investigation."
    Mr. Chesnoff said that Mr. Copperfield is among those rare celebrities with a blemishless past.

    "It is very hurtful for him to hear and read these horrible, untrue allegations being made against him by a still unnamed woman. As I have previously said, David Copperfield has never forced himself on any woman. He is not that type of person. He is a true gentleman in every sense of the word."
    A warehouse owned by magician David Copperfield was searched by FBI agents late on Wednesday (October 17).
    Over one week ago, FBI agents spent hours searching the Las Vegas facility and reportedly removed two million U.S. dollars, a computer hard drive and a memory chip from a digital camera system during the search.
    The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported the investigation stems from allegations of possible sexual misconduct by Copperfield. A source told the newspaper the misconduct occurred outside the United States, but was being investigated by the FBI, because the accuser is an American citizen.
    A local FBI spokesperson has confirmed that a search warrant was carried out, but released no other details other than the warrant is connected to a grand jury case out of Seattle, Washington.
    A spokesperson for Copperfield says he is co-operating with the investigation but would give no further details.
    KLAS-TV reported that the FBI raid was conducted with 12 agents. The TV station quoted a source as saying the cash was stashed in a safe.
    Copperfield, 51, whose real name is David Kotkin, is famed for stunts such as making the Statue of Liberty disappear and walking through the Great Wall of China. He has been a long-time performer at the Hollywood Theater at the MGM Grand casino-hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, where he has performed in six- to eight-week stints several times a year.
    A local FBI spokesperson has confirmed that a search warrant was carried out, but released no other details other than the warrant is connected to a grand jury case out of Seattle, Washington.
    A spokesperson for Copperfield says he is co-operating with the investigation but would give no further details. Years ago Copperfield had a high-profile relationship with the German topmodel Claudia Schiffer.
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