David Copperfield Rape Lawsuit Vanishes

Woman who accused magician of sexually assaulting her in the Bahamas withdraws her complaint, says it was never about money

By Natalie Finn Apr 20, 2010 10:13 PMTags
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The assault lawsuit against David Copperfield has made like the Statue of Liberty and disappeared.

A woman who accused the star illusionist of tricking her into visiting his island in the Bahamas in 2007 by promising her career opportunities and then forcing her to have sex once she arrived has dropped her federal complaint.

Copperfield's camp has maintained that he was a victim of "attempted extortion" and nothing more.

"It has never been about money," plaintiff Lacey Carroll (she voluntarily identified herself) said in a statement released by her attorneys Tuesday. "I just wanted him held accountable for what he did."

There was no further explanation as to why she abandoned her suit, but this last year hasn't been easy for her.

Carroll has pleaded not guilty to prostitution and filing a false police report after being accused late last year of telling police that a customer at the restaurant where she waitressed in Bellevue, Wash., drugged and raped her in a hotel room.

The man claimed, however, that she made up the story after he refused to pay her $2,000 for having sex.

The FBI investigated the rape allegations against Copperfield for nearly two years, at one point searching his Las Vegas warehouse for evidence, before ending their probe in January without filing charges.

"Carroll's lawsuit was nothing but a pathetic attempt to extort Mr. Copperfield for money with malicious and false allegations," the magician's attorney, Angelo Calfo, said in a statement. "There was no settlement. Mr. Copperfield would not and did not pay Carroll a dime to drop her lawsuit."

Calfo also said that Copperfield is cooperating with the FBI "to have Carroll prosecuted for having wasted taxpayer dollars and law enforcement resources in a two and one-half year investigation of her false allegations."

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