The Kirkland woman who accused David Copperfield of raping her during a trip to his private island dropped her federal lawsuit against the superstar magician Tuesday.
The decision by plaintiff Lacey Carroll came days after a federal judge ruled Copperfield’s attorneys could question the 2010 Miss Washington USA runner-up under oath, and 12 weeks after Bellevue prosecutors charged her with prostitution and filing a false police report.
Prosecutors say Carroll, 23, asked a man to pay $2,000 for sex in a hotel, and then falsely accused the man of trying to rape her because he refused the deal.
A check-in employee at the hotel told police that she heard Carroll talking about a threesome with the man and saying she was disappointed another girl had left them earlier that night.
Surveillance video also shows Carroll hugging and kissing the man in two different hotel lobbies, and taking an elevator by herself, even though she claimed to have blacked out earlier that evening.
Carroll has pleaded not guilty to the charges of prostitution and lying to police.
The FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office investigated the allegations against Copperfield for over two years, but ultimately decided not to file charges – although they never explained their decision.
Carroll denies that she was trying to extort money from Copperfield.
“It has never been about money,” she said in press release. “I just wanted him held accountable for what he did.”
Carroll claimed that Copperfield lured her to his island in the Bahamas in 2007 with the promise of modeling jobs and promotional brochures, but he forced her to perform sex acts instead.
Attorneys for Carroll say that over two years of investigations and legal proceedings have devastated their client. They say Copperfield subjected her to “intense scrutiny and constant surveillance, while her family, friends and co-workers have been besieged with subpoenas and demands for personal information.”
“She’s been completely worn down and overwhelmed,” Carroll attorney Becky Roe said to the Seattle Times.
Joshua Adam Hicks can be reached at 425-453-4290.
