London Police Open Sex Offence Investigation into David Walliams
Metropolitan Police are investigating children's author and comedian David Walliams for serious sexual offences following a joint ITV News and Guardian investigation.
Metropolitan Police probe David Walliams over serious sexual offence allegations
London's Metropolitan Police announced on Friday that they have opened a formal investigation into children's author and comedian David Walliams for serious sexual offences, abc7ny.com reports. The move follows a joint three-year investigation by ITV News and the Guardian, which involved interviews with more than 100 people.
One woman told the outlets she was sexually assaulted by Walliams at his London home when she was 15. Others alleged he groomed them during their teenage years. Police confirmed they are examining allegations separate from those reported by the news organisations, but said they would review the published reports for evidence of additional crimes.
Walliams, 55, has denied all the reported allegations. "I am devastated that some of the women I met 10 to 20 years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me," he wrote in a statement to ITV and the Guardian. "Whilst a power imbalance is inevitable when one party is famous, abusing that power is something else entirely and it is something that I never did." He added that he had not broken any laws and was not a sexual predator.
Walliams sought a court injunction to prevent the outlets from naming him, but a judge rejected the application, ruling that such a measure would constitute "an exceptionally serious interference" with the rights of the media companies. He had also claimed that publication of the allegations would lead him to take his own life. He has not spoken publicly since the story first broke on Tuesday afternoon.
The Metropolitan Police received a number of allegations of abuse following the outlets' reporting. Det. Supt. Mike Cagney said: "We would encourage anyone who has been the victim of a sexual offense to come forward and speak to us, no matter when it happened."
Walliams is best known as co-creator and co-star of Little Britain, a widely popular British TV sketch show from the 2000s. He has also published around 40 children's books, which have sold more than 60 million copies worldwide according to his website. Several titles, including Gangsta Granny, have been adapted into BBC comedy dramas and stage productions.
The allegations have had swift consequences across the entertainment industry. Producers of Fing! — an upcoming film based on one of Walliams' books — announced on Tuesday that they had removed his cameo appearance, stating that he "will have no involvement in the film's release or promotion," though he remains credited as a co-writer. U.K. distributor Sky told Variety it was dropping the film entirely. U.S. distributor Angel Studios did not respond to a query from The Associated Press about its plans.
Publisher HarperCollins dropped Walliams last year after separate allegations of inappropriate behaviour emerged. The Guardian reported that concerns about his conduct had existed for years, including an allegation of an inappropriate sexual relationship with a junior female employee. Walliams also stepped down in 2022 as a judge on Britain's Got Talent, after apologising for making "disrespectful comments" about auditioning contestants.
Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)