Magician David Copperfield accused of sexual misconduct by 16 women

Magician David Copperfield is facing accusations of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behaviour from 16 women, it was reported Wednesday morning.

An investigation by The Guardian US found that over half of the alleged offences happened when victims were under the age of 18.

Some were potentially as young as 15 at the time of the alleged misconduct, the outlet said.

The 67-year-old American has denied the allegations against him, which stretch from the late 1980s to 2014.

Some of the alleged abuse included drugging three women before having sexual relations with them, which they said they did not feel able to consent to.

In four cases, women said the magician groped them, or made them touch him in a sexual manner, during live performances on stage.

His attorneys told The Guardian that the claims were “not only completely false but also entirely implausible”.

Illusionist David Copperfield speaks onstage at the Keep Memory Alive foundation’s “Power of Love Gala” celebrating Muhammad Ali’s 70th birthday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena February 18, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada (Getty Images)

The Guardian said it had interviewed over 100 people as part of its investigation, while also examining police and court records.

Some of the alleged abuse happened at the MGM Grand casino in Las Vegas, where Mr Copperfield has been a frequent performer for many years.

One alleged victim said she reported him squeezing her breast while on stage in January 2014, but alleged her claim was never taken seriously.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told the outlet that it closed the case because of “insufficient evidence”. The Independent has approached MGM for comment.

Some of David Copperfield’s alleged abuse happened at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he has frequently performed (Getty Images)

Mr Copperfield was mentioned six times in documents related to the late Jeffrey Epstein in January.

In a deposition, Johanna Sjoberg — who claimed Prince Andrew, the Duke of York touched her breast in 2001 at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse — stated that Mr Copperfield had dinner with Epstein.

Ms Sjoberg said Mr Copperfield did magic tricks before asking if she was aware “that girls were getting paid to find other girls.”

One of the key allegations against Epstein and his ex-partner Ghislaine Maxwell was that some of the girls he paid for sex acts then acted as recruiters to find him other victims. Ms Sjoberg said Copperfield didn’t get more specific about what he meant.

Mr Copperfield’s relationship with Epstein has previously been noted, including in a 2019 article from The New York Times, which described the role of Ghislaine Maxwell in acquiring young girls for the disgraced financier.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.