Met Police Investigate David Walliams Over Alleged Sex Offenses
The Facts
- The Metropolitan Police said Friday it had opened a criminal investigation into English writer and comedian David Walliams after receiving "a number of allegations of non-recent serious sexual offences involving a man now in his 50s," separate from recent reporting by ITN and the Guardian accusing him of sexual misconduct toward several women.
- Detective Superintendent Mike Cagney, who leads the inquiry, urged anyone who has been the victim of a sexual offense to come forward "no matter when it happened." The Met has not confirmed how many alleged offenses were reported or where they occurred.
- It is understood the force had received no reports about Walliams before these allegations. Several women are said to have come forward after the Guardian and ITV News investigation was published Tuesday, prompting Scotland Yard to open a formal criminal investigation. Detectives are also reviewing that reporting for evidence of offenses.
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The Spin
Prosecution narrative
David Walliams and Russell Brand were Britain's dark duo, sharing a nearly two-decade bromance built on womanizing, sexual bravado and cheeky comic personas. Brand has since been convicted of rape and sexual assault, while Walliams now faces allegations involving girls as young as 15. His former smokescreen of outrageous humor and celebrity charm looks increasingly sinister against a track record of troubling behavior.
Defense narrative
Allegations are not verdicts, yet a career can be wrecked the moment a name is published, and Walliams himself denies wrongdoing. The presumption of innocence exists to check the very human thrill of assuming guilt, shielding the famous as fully as anyone else. Complaints described as crimes can be taken to the police and tested by evidence, which is the only proper place for guilt to be decided.
