Woman accuses David Copperfield of rape

SEATTLE, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- A Seattle woman has accused magician and illusionist David Copperfield of raping her in the Bahamas,

Fox News reported Friday.

However, Copperfield's Las Vegas attorney, David Chesnoff, told the network possible sexual abuse claims against the famed magician are false. "If, in fact, those are the allegations, unfortunately false allegations are all too often made against famous individuals," Chesnoff said. "But we are confident the investigation will conclude favorably. We are in touch with the investigators and are respecting the confidentiality of the investigation."

Because the alleged incident happened abroad and the woman did not report it until she returned to the United States, Seattle authorities turned the case over to the FBI, Fox said, citing information supplied by police sources.

FBI officials searched Copperfield's Las Vegas warehouse this week and Seattle FBI agent Robbie Burroughs said the case was related to one in Washington. "The investigation is related to a Seattle case. The Seattle case is pending and that means we can't say anything about it," Burroughs said.

KLAS-TV, Las Vegas, reported that a computer hard drive, digital camera system and nearly $2 million in cash were confiscated from the warehouse.