Magician David Copperfield denies sexual assault and misconduct allegations in The Guardian

By Dan Heching, CNN

(CNN) — Magician David Copperfield has denied allegations of sexual assault and misconduct, published in a report on Wednesday from The Guardian.

In an email sent to CNN on Wednesday, a representative for Copperfield said, “most of these historic accusations have been made before, and all of them are as false now as they were then.”

The statement was in response to an exposé by The Guardian in which 16 women accused Copperfield of sexual misconduct or assault. Some of the accusers included in the article said they were underage at the time of their alleged incidents. One woman alleges she and her friend were drugged before Copperfield proceeded to have sex with them without their consent.

The article featured accounts from some women who had previously gone public with their allegations, while others were going public for the first time through interviews with the publication.

“The allegations span four decades – from the late 1980s to 2014,” The Guardian said. “More than half of these women say they were under the age of 18 at the time of the alleged incidents.” Of those who said they were underage, two said they were 15 at the time.

“Everyone that knows David Copperfield will tell you that these recent allegations from one newspaper are the exact opposite of who David is. In fact, David has a record of risking his career to help protect women from powerful predators,” the statement from Copperfield’s representative read. “David requested the ‘evidence’ upon which these false allegations claim to rely and this has not been provided.”

On Thursday, The Guardian published a second piece that detailed allegations from five more women, all of whom said they met Copperfield while they were competing in a modeling contest. One of the former contestants alleges Copperfield drugged and sexually assaulted her “in the months after the competition,” at which time she was 17 years old, the article said.

CNN cannot independently confirm the accounts, some of which were from unnamed women. As of publication, CNN is not aware of any legal investigations involving Copperfield or criminal charges filed against him relating to these allegations.

“The Guardian’s characterization is not who David is,” the statement from Copperfield’s representative said, calling the allegations “false and scurrilous.”

When contacted by CNN for a response to Copperfield’s representative’s statement, Matt Mittenthal, head of communications for The Guardian US, said, “The Guardian’s reporting speaks for itself and is ongoing.”

The representative for Copperfield has not replied to CNN’s request for comment regarding the Guardian’s report that was published on Thursday.

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