NYPD Confirms It's Investigating David Blaine

The NYPD on Monday confirmed its Special Victims Unit is investigating magician David Blaine following complaints. The Daily Beast references a senior NYPD official in reporting two women gave statements to the SVU alleging sexual assault; a source says one of those alleged assaults dates to 1998. The New York Post's sources echo that timeline, and say the second woman's allegations date to 1997; she claims she was made to masturbate Blaine while hypnotized, per the sources. The Post notes the statute of limitations has passed and reports the SVU division handling the complaints is the Cold Case Squad.

The Daily Beast reports it reached out to the 45-year-old magician, who had no comment but said police had not contacted him. More recently, Scotland Yard investigated a similar allegation by former model Natasha Prince, who alleged she was raped in 2004; the case was closed in 2017. (More David Blaine stories.)