https://www.google.com/amp/amp.thedailybeast.com/exclusive-former-model-accuses-david-blaine-of-rape
Scotland Yard is investigating magician David Blaine after a model accused him of raping her in London. Police have asked Blaine to come to Britain to be interviewed, according to emails reviewed by The Daily Beast.
Natasha Prince claims Blaine raped her at a private home in London’s Chelsea neighborhood in the summer of 2004, months after her 21st birthday, she told The Daily Beast in her first-ever interview on the subject.
“Officers from the Met’s Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Command are investigating an allegation of rape,” Scotland Yard said in a statement to The Daily Beast. “The allegation was reported to police on 17 November 2016 by a woman who alleged she was raped at an address in Chelsea in June or July 2004 when she was aged 21. There have been no arrests at this stage and enquiries continue.”
Police last month emailed Prince that they had requested Blaine, through his attorney, come to the U.K. for an “interview under caution” where he would be provided with the particulars of the allegation. Blaine’s attorney, Marty Singer, denied all allegations to The Daily Beast in a statement.
“My client vehemently denies that he raped or sexually assaulted any woman, ever, and he specifically denies raping a woman in 2004,” the statement said. (“This would include Natasha Prince,” Singer said in an additional statement.) “If, in fact, there is any police investigation, my client will fully cooperate because he has nothing to hide.”
In the year since Prince contacted police last October, allegations of sexual abuse and harassment have roiled almost every industry. Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly of Fox News were dismissed after they were discovered to have paid off accusers. Donald Trump’s presidential campaign was wounded by his boasting of sexual assault on tape and multiple women accusing him of groping, including in an ongoing lawsuit. And Hollywood’s king, Harvey Weinstein, was dethroned after allegations were unearthed that he preyed on women in the industry.
I met Prince at a near-empty fast food restaurant near The Beverly Hills Hotel where she was staying. A decade removed from the modeling world, today she works as an art dealer in Manhattan.
Prince was born in England to a middle-class family of a Liverpool businessman and entered the modeling world briefly at 15 before working full time at 18 when she was with Storm in London and then Next in London, Paris, and New York. Before she quit abruptly at 24, Prince graced roughly 25 magazine covers, including German Vogue, French Elle, and Italian Glamour, and was featured prominently in campaigns for Louis Vuitton, Levi’s, and Diesel Jeans.
Scotland Yard is investigating magician David Blaine after a model accused him of raping her in London. Police have asked Blaine to come to Britain to be interviewed, according to emails reviewed by The Daily Beast.
Natasha Prince claims Blaine raped her at a private home in London’s Chelsea neighborhood in the summer of 2004, months after her 21st birthday, she told The Daily Beast in her first-ever interview on the subject.
“Officers from the Met’s Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Command are investigating an allegation of rape,” Scotland Yard said in a statement to The Daily Beast. “The allegation was reported to police on 17 November 2016 by a woman who alleged she was raped at an address in Chelsea in June or July 2004 when she was aged 21. There have been no arrests at this stage and enquiries continue.”
Police last month emailed Prince that they had requested Blaine, through his attorney, come to the U.K. for an “interview under caution” where he would be provided with the particulars of the allegation. Blaine’s attorney, Marty Singer, denied all allegations to The Daily Beast in a statement.
“My client vehemently denies that he raped or sexually assaulted any woman, ever, and he specifically denies raping a woman in 2004,” the statement said. (“This would include Natasha Prince,” Singer said in an additional statement.) “If, in fact, there is any police investigation, my client will fully cooperate because he has nothing to hide.”
In the year since Prince contacted police last October, allegations of sexual abuse and harassment have roiled almost every industry. Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly of Fox News were dismissed after they were discovered to have paid off accusers. Donald Trump’s presidential campaign was wounded by his boasting of sexual assault on tape and multiple women accusing him of groping, including in an ongoing lawsuit. And Hollywood’s king, Harvey Weinstein, was dethroned after allegations were unearthed that he preyed on women in the industry.
I met Prince at a near-empty fast food restaurant near The Beverly Hills Hotel where she was staying. A decade removed from the modeling world, today she works as an art dealer in Manhattan.
Prince was born in England to a middle-class family of a Liverpool businessman and entered the modeling world briefly at 15 before working full time at 18 when she was with Storm in London and then Next in London, Paris, and New York. Before she quit abruptly at 24, Prince graced roughly 25 magazine covers, including German Vogue, French Elle, and Italian Glamour, and was featured prominently in campaigns for Louis Vuitton, Levi’s, and Diesel Jeans.
