Police have launched a criminal investigation into 'a number of allegations of non-recent serious sexual offences' against David Walliams.
asserted
Police → launch → Walliams
The entertainer is being investigated over accusations that he used his fame to groom schoolgirls and pursue young women.
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he → investigate → women
The allegations are separate from those reported by ITN and The Guardian, the Met Police has said.
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Police → report → ITN
Walliams, 55, has been accused of sexually assaulting one 15-year-old girl, targeting another who was doing her GCSE mocks, and sexually harassing a string of other young women.
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who → accuse → women
The comedian, who denies wrongdoing, attempted to prevent the allegations emerging in a High Court battle with the media, threatening to kill himself if the women's claims were made public.
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claims → deny → himself
He sought an injunction but his application was refused by a judge who allowed The Guardian newspaper and ITV News to publish an investigation on Tuesday detailing the torrid claims.
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newspaper → seek → claims
Since then, several women have come forward to accuse Walliams of criminal offences, which has prompted Scotland Yard to launch a formal criminal investigation.
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which → come → investigation
Detective Superintendent Mike Cagney, whose team is leading the investigation, said: 'We would encourage anyone who has been the victim of a sexual offence to come forward and speak to us, no matter when it happened.
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it → lead → us
David Walliams was accused of sexual misconduct and abusing his power to groom teenagers
'
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Walliams → accuse → teenagers
We know reporting allegations of this nature can be daunting, but specialist officers are on hand to provide support, answer questions and guide you through the process.
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officers → know → process
The millionaire star of TV shows such as Little Britain and Come Fly With Me, and a successful children's author once feted as the 'new Roald Dahl', has denied preying on young women.
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star → come → women
He has acknowledged behaving 'thoughtlessly' at times but declared: 'I am not a sexual predator.'
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I → acknowledge → times
A woman referred to as Jade said she was 15 in 2007 when the former Britain's Got Talent (BGT) judge molested her.
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judge → refer → her
He had contacted her on the now-defunct messaging site MySpace – a precursor to Facebook – asking for her number, and they chatted on the phone about 'where I lived, what I do in school'.
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I → contact → school
They arranged to meet in Soho where Walliams, then 36, bought her coffee before taking her down an alleyway and kissing her, she alleged.
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she → arrange → her
He then drove her in his Aston Martin to his house – Supernova Heights, the Primrose Hill mansion once owned by Oasis star Noel Gallagher – where she claims that he 'lifted my top up and sucked on my breast and then tried to put my hand down his trousers'.
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he → drive → trousers
She said: 'That's when I pulled away and said no.
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I → say → ?
Lawyers for Walliams have said he had never engaged in grooming young women and denied any sexual contact with Jade.
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he → say → Jade
They have previously said the allegations were false.
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allegations → say → ?
Another woman, identified only as Alex, alleged Walliams groomed her at 15 when she was studying for her mock GCSEs and met him at a Little Britain fan event.
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she → identify → event
David Walliams arrives for Britain's Got Talent auditions in London in January 2022
Her mother snapped a photo of the moment Alex handed him comedy sketches she had written, and a few days later he phoned her, saying: 'Hi, it's David Walliams.
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it → arrive → her
You know, off the telly.'
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You → know → telly
They talked about her school, exams and when she was turning 16, it was claimed.
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it → talk → 16
Walliams helped with her writing and offered to get her work experience in TV.
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Walliams → help → TV
When she was 17, in 2005, they had consensual sex, she said, but added: 'It felt very... pushy.
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It → have → sex
I felt like a prostitute, essentially.
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I → feel → prostitute
I think I was groomed, 100 per cent.'
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I → think → ?
Walliams' lawyers said he believed Alex was 18 when they had sex and was 'mortified to learn' that their 'brief, consensual relationship has caused her sadness'.
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relationship → say → sadness
Abby Tomlinson, now a senior aide to Andy Burnham in Downing Street, is among those who spoke out.
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who → speak → those
The PM's deputy digital comms chief was a 17-year-old BGT fan in 2015 when she says she found herself in Walliams' dressing room with girls aged 13, 16 and 17, without any other adult present.
She told The Guardian: 'The door was shut and we were alone with him.'
Walliams' lawyers said this claim was misleading.
Sarah, another BGT fan, said she was invited to Walliams' house when she was 18 and claimed he got her drunk and stroked her leg before trying to lead her to bed.
Lilly Creightmore, a former model, was 18 in 2003 when he 'constantly pestered' her for sex, she alleged.
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she → say → sex
On October 22, Walliams was sectioned under the Mental Health Act for his own safety, the High Court was told.
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Court → section → safety
He remains in a psychiatric hospital.
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He → remain → hospital
The Aporia
