No doubt many fans of David Blaine are having a rough time with this news. You want to believe the best of your heroes and dismiss the worst, and it’s important to remember that accusations aren’t proven.
We have seen recently how false accusations can ruin lives, and come with consequences. But at the same time, women who have suffered horrific crimes need to be heard and believed enough for their claims to be investigated.
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So this case is one worth keeping your eyes on.
Magician David Blaine is used to being scrutinized, but not like this.
People have always wanted to figure out how the illusionist and daredevil pulls off his tricks, but now he’s being investigated by the NYPD after two women came forward with accusations of sexual assault.
The accusations detail separate assaults that happened more than 20 years ago.
And, as the New York Post reports, one of the women claims that Blaine hypnotized her “and made her masturbate him while she was in a hypnotic state.”
The other woman says she was assaulted by Blaine at his Manhattan apartment in 1998.
Both women have been interviewed by sex crimes detectives and the case is in the hands of the NYPD’s Special Victims Division’s Cold Case Squad.
Although it’s with the cold case squad, the NYPD confirmed that the investigation is very much active.
“The NYPD takes sexual assault and rape cases extremely seriously,” Chief Spokesman Phil Walzak said in a statement, “and urges anyone who has been a victim to file a report so we can perform a comprehensive investigation, and offer support and services to survivors.”
The police had “no comment” on whether or not Blaine had been interviewed by detectives.
Blaine denies the accusations and told The Daily Beast that he has not been approached by police. He has not been charged with a crime, and there’s a chance he never will be as the statute of limitations may have passed.
However, this isn’t the first time Blaine has faced accusations of sexual assault.
Back in 2016, former model Natasha Price accused Blaine of drugging and raping her in 2004 at his friend’s apartment in London. Blaine denied Price’s accusations and said that anything they might have done together was consensual. Scotland Yard investigated but ultimately dropped it without charging Blaine.
h/t New York Post , The Daily Beast
