Magician David Copperfield, whose real name is David Seth Kotkin, has been accused of engaging in sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior by 16 women, more than half of whom say they were under the age of 18 at the time of the alleged incidents.
The allegations include assertions that Copperfield engaged in sexual activity with three women who were unable to consent, because the magician had drugged them prior, according to a report by the Guardian.
Allegations against Copperfield reportedly span from the late 1980s to 2014.
Notably, this is not the first time Copperfield has been accused of misconduct. One of the 16 women, Brittney Lewis, first went public with her allegations against the famed illusionist in 2018, claiming he had drugged and sexually assaulted her in 1988, when she was 17.
Another alleged victim told the Guardian that she and her friend had a similar experience with Copperfield, claiming he had drugged both of them before having sex with the two women, and they were therefore both unable to consent to the fornication.
Other allegations involve claims of groping — including touching of breasts — with one woman claiming to have been 15 at the time of the alleged incident.
Family members of the alleged 15-year-old victim said they were seated in the audience during one of Copperfield’s live performances, and claimed they personally witnessed the magician grope her breasts.
Copperfield has “denied any wrongdoing of any kind,” and “never acted inappropriately with anyone, let alone anyone underage,” his lawyers told the magazine, adding that drugs are “not a part of his world.”
“Everyone that knows David Copperfield will tell you that these recent allegations from one newspaper are the exact opposite of who David is,” a representative for Copperfield told Fox News.
“In fact, David has a record of risking his career to help protect women from powerful predators,” the representative added. “Most of these historic accusations have been made before, and all of them are as false now as they were then.”
The magician’s representative went on to say that Copperfield “requested the ‘evidence’ upon which these false allegations claim to rely and this has not been provided,” adding that while the #MeToo movement “must succeed,” these “false accusations must stop for it to flourish.”
“David will be considering the position with his legal team and will take such steps as may be appropriate over these false and scurrilous allegations,” the representative concluded.
Separately, Copperfield was named in unsealed January 2019 court documents involving the late disgraced financier and convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Notably, however, Copperfield’s name being mentioned in the court documents does not mean he committed a crime.
According to an affidavit, Copperfield asked one woman — who would later be identified as one of Epstein’s victims — if she was “aware that girls were getting paid to find other girls” for the financier.
Copperfield’s attorneys told the Guardian the illusionist had heard a “rumor” about girls being paid to recruit for Epstein, but insisted he had “no knowledge or belief that anything improper was going on.”
The magician saw “no reason to contact law enforcement or to raise the matter with others,” as the woman with whom he spoke did not express any concerns, the lawyers added.
“Our client did not know about Epstein’s horrific crimes,” the attorneys said. “Like the rest of the world, he learned about it from the press.”
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