Sexual assault lawsuit against David Copperfield dropped

New York: A woman who accused well-known American magician David Copperfield of sexually abusing her has withdrawn her lawsuit after nearly three years.

Washington-based model and waitress Lacey Carroll, 23, also the first runner-up last year in Miss Washington USA, said in a statement that Copperfield`s camp built insurmountable legal obstacles, subjecting her "to intense scrutiny and constant surveillance, while her family, friends and co-workers have been besieged with subpoenas and demands for personal information". However, Copperfield`s representative said Carroll`s story was "nothing but a pathetic attempt to extort Mr. Copperfield for money with malicious and false allegations", reports people.com. Carroll met Copperfield at a show in Washington in January 2007. She complained that when she visited his island that summer, he attacked and sexually assaulted her and threatened to kill her, leaving her extremely traumatised. The FBI and federal prosecutors spent more than two years investigating the allegations and even searched Copperfield`s Las Vegas warehouse but closed the case early this year without filing criminal charges and without explaining the decision. Copperfield is known for his combination of storytelling and illusion. IANS