The woman, a 22-year-old fashion model and former Miss Washington USA contestant, is unnamed because she is an alleged assault victim. She claims Copperfield assaulted her repeatedly during a visit to his private island; Copperfield’s attorneys released a lengthy statement denying the charges, which were originally part of a 2007 lawsuit.

The woman, who was brought up on stage once at a Copperfield performance, eventually found her way to Copperfield’s $50 million private island in the Bahamas in 2007. That’s where the story diverges.

The woman claims the 52-year-old magician drove her to the beach on her first night on Musha Cay and, upon returning to her room, Copperfield removed her passport from her purse, according to the Seattle Times.

After dinner and a movie in Copperfield’s room, the woman reportedly claims he “attacked [her] and sexually assaulted her” on the bed, with death threats. The next day she claims she tried to hide from the illusionist but he found her, took her to a private beach and held her head under water after she refused to “get naked,” the Times reported.

“He then told her, ‘This is an example of what you will get if you tell anyone,’” the lawsuit reportedly says. A third assault then allegedly took place when Copperfield dragged her from the shower in her room.

She eventually reported the alleged assaults to Seattle police. The FBI raided Copperfield’s Las Vegas warehouse and sources confirmed to the Times that a grand jury convened to hear the case.

“This woman, who filed the lawsuit, has a history of lying,” stated Copperfield attorneys Angelo Calfo and Patty Eakes. “She has lied to law enforcement before and, as a result, had innocent people arrested based on a false accusation. She bragged to one of her closest friends that she could make up allegations against a guy to ‘take a guy down’ if she wanted to.”

According to the statement, there were more than 20 women and men on the island during her visit and it is preposterous that she could not find help. Instead of alerting the island’s manager to her alleged assaults, she “sun-tanned in her bikini listening to her iPod, jet-skied with island visitors, had playful conversations with guests and swam on island beaches, day after day.”

Not only are there telephones on the island where she could call anyone in the world, “including 911,” there are cell phone towers and boats she could have used to escape to inhabited islands “minutes” away, according to the statement.

“This lawsuit is extortion for money, plain and simple. Unfortunately, false claims like this only hurt the women who really have been abused, women who really need our help.”

Copperfield attorney Eakes is a former sexual-assault prosecutor for King County in Washington, according to the Times.

Click here to read the complete Seattle Times article.