Lacey Carroll, the first runner-up last year in Miss Washington USA, withdrew her lawsuit against David Copperfield Tuesday. The 23-year-old accused the magician of sexually assaulting her three years ago on his private island in the Bahamas.
Carroll said in a statement that Copperfield’s camp created 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.”
Copperfield’s rep says Carroll’s story was “nothing but a pathetic attempt to extort Mr. Copperfield for money with malicious and false allegations.”
Carroll met Copperfield in January 2007 at a show in Kennewick, Wash. when Copperfield pulled Carroll out of the audience then later invited her to his private island. The trip was supposed to lead to possible modeling gigs doing promotional brochures or other materials for Copperfield, Carroll claims, but Copperfield forced her to perform sex acts instead.
The FBI and federal prosecutors investigated the allegations for more than two years but closed the case early this year without filing criminal charges against Copperfield.
Copperfield insists the accusations amounted to an extortion attempt. The magician’s lawyers say that assertion was vindicated when Carroll was charged with making a false sexual assault claim against another man in Bellevue, Wash., late last year.