Right Juris

David Copperfield sued for sexual assault is the story out of federal court in Seattle Washington. The sexual assault lawsuit is being brought by a 22 year old model and former Miss Washington contestant. The allegations stem out of an alleged incident occurring in July 2007 on Copperfield’s $50 million dollar private island in the Bahamas. This is not the first mention of the alleged assault in the media, and Copperfield has fought these accusations for over two years.

Read more about the allegations involved in the David Copperfield Sexual Assault Lawsuit and see a video of one of his illusions below.

The allegations made in the lawsuit are extremely detailed and if true very serious. According to the Seattle Times the plaintiff in the case claims that three separate assaults occurred. The first alleged assault took place in Copperfield’s room, the second on the private beach where she is alleging that Copperfield almost drowned her, and the third incident she claims Copperfield dragged her out of the shower and assaulted her.

Copperfield is strongly denying the allegations. The Seattle Times story states:

On Wednesday, he issued a bare-knuckled response to the lawsuit, entitled, “Copperfield Sets the Record Straight.” He accused the woman of “extortion for money, plain and simple.” The woman, according to Copperfield’s attorneys, Angelo Calfo and Patty Eakes, “has a history of lying, … which continues in this lawsuit.”

Eakes is a former sexual-assault prosecutor for King County.

The accuser met Copperfield at a show in Washington and was invited to the private island in the Bahamas. She is suing for an unspecified amount of damages for infliction of emotional distress, false misrepresentation and false imprisonment. The civil suit was brought on the final day before the statute of limitations ran out. You can read more about the story here and here.

This is the second high profile public figure who has had to defend a civil suit regarding an alleged sexual assault. Ben Roethlisberger faced similar claims. I’m not ever going to defend someone who has sexually assaulted someone, because there is no excuse for that type of behavior, but in both of these cases there have been no criminal charges filed against the alleged perpetrators. In the case of Copperfield the decision is still being made, but the authorities have been investigating these claims since 2007. I would have expected charges by now if they had some merit. If it comes out that things happened the way the accuser said then I think Copperfield should spend a long time in a cell, but the longer it takes before charges are filed the less likely charges will be filed, and the harder it will be for a conviction.

Who knew that magicians could make enough money to buy a $50 million private island in the Bahamas? Below is a video of one of Copperfield’s illusions that has made him millions of dollars.

So, what we’ve learned today is that David Copperfield sued for sexual assault in federal court is not a criminal charge, but a civil suit filed by a 22 year old model and former Miss Washington contestant. The sexual assault lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages, which means a whole lot of money, and it was filed on the last possible day that it could be filed. The other thing we learned is that Copperfield has hired a former King County sexual assault prosecutor to help defend himself against this suit, and we’ve also learned that if you practice enough magic tricks you may be able to afford your own private island in the Bahamas. What do you all think about these types of suits? Are they valid claims for damages, or do you think that it’s just a ploy to extort money from celebrities? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Photos: www.wenn.com