Two women have accused celebrity magician David Blaine of sexual assault, the New York Police Department has confirmed.
Dermot Shea, NYPD’s chief of detectives, said Blaine was “under active investigation” by the department’s Special Victims Unit.
Shea declined to discuss any details, but his statements were in response to a Daily Beast report stating detectives had taken statements from two women who say Blaine sexually assaulted them.
The report added that one of the cases, which allegedly took place at his Manhattan apartment in 1998, might be outside the statute of limitations.
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In 2006, New York eliminated its statute of limitations for cases committed after that point involving first-degree rape, criminal sexual acts, aggravated sexual abuse or sexual conduct against a child.
The Daily Beast had previously reported that a former model alleged Blaine raped her in London in 2004, an allegation he denied.
Scotland Yard detectives later declined to take further action after investigating her claim, the website said.
The 45-year-old Blaine is known for stunts such as being buried underground for seven days without food or water in New York in 1999.
He also stayed in a plexiglass case suspended 30 feet above the Thames Rivers in London for more than 40 days in 2003.
In a separate statement about the New York City case on Monday, the NYPD said it “takes sexual assault and rape cases extremely seriously, 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.”
