Woman in David Copperfield's Rape Probe Arrested
Copperfield's accuser, ex-Miss Washington contestant, charged with prostitution.
Jan. 27, 2010 — -- It's no illusion: Lacey L. Carroll, who had accused magician David Copperfield of raping her in 2007, has been arrested in connection with another case where she alleged rape.
Tuesday, Carroll was charged in Washington state with prostitution and providing a false statement to police regarding what happened on Dec. 2, 2009, when she claimed to have been sexually assaulted by a 31-year-old man in Bellevue, Wash.
The case is strikingly similar to the case involving Copperfield. The 23-year-old former Miss Washington USA contestant claimed she met the magician at one of his 2007 shows in Washington, and afterwards, he invited her to visit his private island in the Bahamas. Later, she told detectives that Copperfield sexually assaulted her while on the island, once by holding her head under water to coerce her.
Federal prosecutors closed that investigation without charges in December 2009.
In Carroll's new case, according to ABC affiliate KOMO-TV, she told detectives she had been lured from a bowling alley to the Bellevue Club and Hotel by her male companion. Carroll claimed she couldn't remember anything that happened after leaving the bowling alley, but when questioned by another investigator, said she "remembered taking a taxi and then coming to in a hotel with Loomis on top of her, pinning her shoulders down on a bed," according to a police statement.
Copperfield's attorney, Patty Eakes, said in a statement to ABC News that "these developments vindicate Mr. Copperfield and confirm what he has said all along -- this woman tried to extort money from him by making a false claim. Thankfully, authorities have now stepped in to stop her."
2007 was an odd time for Copperfield. In addition to the launch of the rape investigation in October, the same month, FBI agents raided a Las Vegas warehouse owned by Copperfield. Media reports claimed agents took $2 million in cash from the building along with a computer hard drive and a memory chip from a digital camera system. The FBI later said no money was taken from the warehouse.
Then, in November 2007, Viva Art International Ltd and Maz Concerts Inc. sued Copperfield for nearly $2.2 million for breach of contract. Copperfield countersued the promoters; the dispute was resolved in July 2009.
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