Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ sex-trafficking trial: All the information you want to grasp – National | Globalnews.ca

For greater than 20 years, Sean “Diddy” Combs was once referred to as one in every of hip-hop’s greatest marketers, making hits for best ability like Notorious B.I.G. and making a industry empire that integrated Bad Boy Records, a manner emblem, a TV community, offers with liquor corporations and a key position actually TV display Making The Band.

But now, U.S. prosecutors allege that for 20 years, in the back of the scenes, Diddy was once coercing and abusing girls with assist from a community of comrades who helped silence sufferers thru blackmail and violence.

Diddy has pleaded no longer to blame and denied all the allegations. Jury variety for his trial starts on Monday, May 5 at a federal courthouse in Manhattan with testimony set to apply the week of May 12.

Here’s the entirety you want to grasp forward of the trial.

What he’s on trial for

Diddy faces an indictment that comes with descriptions of “Freak Offs,” that are outlined within the court docket document as “elaborate and produced sex performances that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded.”

Numerous witnesses have come ahead to accuse Diddy of terrorizing other people into silence via choking, hitting, kicking and dragging them, in line with prosecutors. One indictment alleges that Diddy dangled any individual from a balcony.

Although dozens of women and men have alleged in court cases that Diddy abused them, this trial will spotlight the claims of 4 girls.

One of them is Diddy’s former female friend, R&B singer Cassie Ventura, whom the rapper was once stuck on digital camera beating and dragging down a Los Angeles resort hallway in 2016.

After CNN aired the video remaining 12 months, Diddy apologized, pronouncing, “I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now.”

Ventura filed a lawsuit in past due 2023 pronouncing Diddy had subjected her to years of abuse, together with beatings and rape when they met in 2005.

Her lawsuit, which presented the primary public account of the “Freak Offs” described within the indictment, was once settled in an afternoon. Four months later, federal investigators raided Diddy’s properties in Los Angeles and Miami and faced him at a non-public airport in Florida, seizing 96 digital gadgets. They additionally discovered 3 AR-15-style rifles with defaced serial numbers.

Diddy was once indicted remaining September. He has been held in a federal prison in Brooklyn after judges dominated that he could be a risk to intimidate witnesses and sufferers if launched.

The 17-page indictment in opposition to Diddy accuses him of the usage of workers to facilitate his crimes thru acts that integrated kidnapping, arson and bribery.

Prosecutors will display jurors go back and forth information, textual content messages and emails, resort information and movies to complement testimony and improve their claims about what they confer with as “Freak Off activity.”

They declare that ladies had been manipulated into taking part within the drug-fuelled sexual performances and to stay the ladies in line, prosecutors say Diddy used a mixture of affect and violence. He presented to spice up their leisure careers in the event that they did what he requested — or reduce them off in the event that they didn’t.

The indictment mentioned that Diddy “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.”

It stated he subjected his sufferers to violence, threats of violence, threats of economic and reputational hurt and verbal abuse. The allegations additionally declare that he “manipulated women to participate in highly orchestrated performances of sexual activity with male commercial sex workers.”

“On multiple occasions, Combs threw both objects and people, as well as hit, dragged, choked and shoved others,” it stated. “On one occasion, Combs dangled a victim over an apartment balcony.”

“Like the Freak Offs, these commercial sex acts involving Combs and a female victim were prearranged, sometimes lasted multiple days, were sometimes electronically recorded by Combs and often involved Combs distributing a variety of controlled substances to the victim, in part to keep the victim obedient and compliant,” the court docket paperwork alleged.

“In connection with the commercial sex acts, Combs provided the victims with, among other things, monetary payments, career opportunities, and payment of rent and housing expenses.”

The grievance in opposition to Diddy stated he paid resort safety workforce US$100,000 (just about C$145,166.32) for surveillance photos of his alleged attack of a lady, later printed as Ventura, in March 2016.

The indictment states that “when Combs’ authority or reputation was threatened by the possibility of negative publicity or legal or law enforcement action against him,” he and his friends “pressured witnesses and victims, including through attempted bribery, to stay silent and not report what they experienced or knew to law enforcement.”

What are the fees?

Diddy is charged with racketeering conspiracy, two fees of intercourse trafficking and two fees of transportation to interact in prostitution. If he’s convicted on all counts, he has the prospective to stay in the back of bars for lifestyles.

Diddy has endured to disclaim all the fees the federal government has introduced in opposition to him after his September 2024 arrest and stays incarcerated with out bail.

He rejected a plea deal from federal prosecutors on Thursday, May 1.

After asking Diddy to verify if he was once of sound thoughts and no longer on any medication, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, who’s overseeing his trial in New York, requested the rapper concerning the plea deal.

“Have you rejected the government’s offer?” Subramanian requested him.

“Yes, your honour,” Diddy spoke back.

Maurene Comey, a prosecutor with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s administrative center, stated the rejected deal would have allowed for lowered jail time, however different main points of the deal weren’t shared.

What does Diddy’s felony crew say?

Diddy and his legal professionals say he’s blameless. His felony crew claims that Diddy “has never sexually assaulted anyone — adult or minor, man or woman.”

They additionally declare that any crew intercourse was once consensual. According to his felony crew, there was once no effort to coerce other people into issues they didn’t wish to do, and not anything that took place amounted to a legal racket.

Diddy’s attorney, Marc Agnifilo, up to now stated at a bail listening to that Diddy wrote “a very large check” to Ventura after she filed her lawsuit. Agnifilo claimed that the payout motivated others to come back ahead with “false claims.”

Agnifilo stated that Diddy was once “not a perfect person” and that there have been drug use and poisonous relationships, however he underwent treatment ahead of his arrest.

He stated that Ventura and Diddy had been in a 10-year dating that was once “very loving at times” and so they occasionally selected to convey a 3rd individual into their intimacy.

“That was their thing,” he alleged, on April 25. “It was a sought-after, special part of their relationship.”

“There’s a lifestyle, call it swingers or whatever you will, that he thought was appropriate because it was common,” Agnifilo informed the court docket.

When prosecutors added new main points to their indictment in opposition to Diddy in January, including 4 years to the period of his alleged racketeering conspiracy, Agnifilio stated the submitting had “no new offenses” and claimed that the prosecutions’ idea “remains flawed.”

“The government has added the ridiculous theory that two of Mr. Combs’ former girlfriends were not girlfriends at all but were prostitutes. Mr. Combs is as committed as ever to fighting these charges and winning at trial,” Agnifilo added.

Who are Diddy’s legal professionals?

Diddy’s felony crew comprises Marc Anthony Agnifilo, a legal defence attorney, who up to now represented NXIVM cult chief Keith Raniere and “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli.

His felony crew additionally comprises Teny Geragos, the daughter of defence attorney Mark Geragos, whose purchasers have integrated celebrities like Michael Jackson, Winona Ryder, Nicole Richie, Chris Brown and extra.

Court doctors additionally listing 5 different legal professionals for Diddy, together with Alexandra Shapiro, Jason Driscoll, Anna Estevao and Brian Steel, who not too long ago represented rapper Young Thug in his racketeering case in Georgia.

In February, a defence attorney representing Diddy filed a movement to step down because the rapper’s attorney, in line with felony paperwork.

In the movement filed in New York Federal Court, Anthony Ricco notified the pass judgement on of his intent to withdraw and stated there are “sufficient reasons” safe via attorney/consumer privilege.

“Although I have provided Sean Combs with the high level of legal representation expected by the court, under no circumstances can I continue to effectively serve as counsel for Sean Combs,” he wrote.

He declined to enter the precise main points as to why he was once leaving Diddy’s felony crew, however he did word it adopted discussions with Agnifilo.

Ricco stated that his movement for withdrawal of recommend “will not result in a delay of the present schedule for the commencement of jury selection and trial, or the present schedules for briefing of pretrial legal issues.”

Who are the prosecutors?

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There is a crew of 8 U.S. legal professionals arguing the case for the federal government, together with Emily Johnson, Madison Smyser, Mary Slavik, Meredith Foster and Mitzi Steiner.

The prosecution crew additionally comprises Maurene Ryan Comey, daughter of former FBI Director James Comey.

Who is the pass judgement on?

The pass judgement on overseeing Diddy’s trial is Judge Arun Subramanian, who become the primary South Asian pass judgement on within the Southern District of New York and was once nominated via former U.S. President Joe Biden in 2022 and showed via the Senate in 2023.

Subramanian is a Columbia Law School graduate, who clerked for the past due Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. He was once a spouse on the Manhattan regulation company Susman Godfrey, the place he up to now specialised in business and chapter regulation.

Subramanian has denied the request from Diddy’s recommend to exclude the CNN safety digital camera photos of Diddy attacking Ventura.

The ruling will permit prosecutors to turn the jury the video, which Diddy’s legal professionals up to now claimed was once altered and non-admissible within the trial.

Who goes to testify on the trial?

The federal case comprises 4 alleged sufferers, known within the indictment as “Victim-1,” “Victim-2,” Victim-3″ and “Victim-4,” in line with court docket paperwork considered via Global News. They are all anticipated to testify in opposition to Diddy right through the trial.

Ventura may be anticipated to testify and he or she might be one of the crucial 4 sufferers indexed above.

Will the trial be televised?

No, not like different fresh high-profile famous person trials, Diddy’s court docket case received’t be broadcast reside as a result of federal courtrooms don’t permit digital recordings inside of. Courtroom cartoon artists will function the general public’s eyes within the court right through the trial, which is predicted to remaining no less than 8 weeks.

What’s no longer going to be integrated within the trial?

Since October 2024, there have been over 120 court cases filed in opposition to Diddy, alleging sexual attack, intercourse trafficking, drugging, rape, and battery amongst different fees.

Like the others, Diddy has denied all of those accusations in opposition to him. None of those might be integrated within the federal indictment in opposition to the rapper.

The most up-to-date lawsuit, filed on April 1 within the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, accuses Diddy of collaborating within the drugging and sexual attack of a person. Joseph Manzaro is suing the disgraced tune multi-millionaire for sexually exploiting him in a centered revenge plot in 2015, in line with court docket paperwork.

Diddy’s alleged offences in opposition to Manzaro come with human trafficking, obstruction of justice and witness tampering racketeering and intentional infliction of emotional misery.

“Diddy orchestrated and facilitated the abuse, coercion and intimidation of (Manzaro), using his influence, wealth and power to silence and control (Manzaro) and engaged in acts of violence, sexual coercion and psychological manipulation, knowingly causing severe harm while ensuring (Manzaro) remained unable to seek justice,” the lawsuit learn.

In a commentary, Diddy’s felony crew stated Manzaro’s lawsuit “demonstrates the depraved lengths plaintiffs will travel to garner headlines in pursuit of a payday.”

Diddy’s previous felony troubles

Diddy has been keen on earlier felony instances however that is the primary time he stands accused via the U.S. Department of Justice.

In 1994, Tupac Shakur was once shot in New York, and Diddy and Notorious B.I.G. had been accused of getting prior wisdom of the assault, which they denied. Shakur was once later killed in a 1996 capturing in Las Vegas.

In 1996, Diddy was once convicted of legal mischief after he allegedly threatened a New York Post photographer with a gun. He paid a $1,000 fantastic.

In 1999, the rapper was once booked and charged with two felonies in opposition to document government Steve Stoute, who alleged that Diddy and his bodyguards beat him with their fists, a champagne bottle and a chair. Diddy publicly apologized and Stoute requested for a dismissal of the fees. He ended up pleading to blame to harassment and was once sentenced to an afternoon of anger control categories.

The similar 12 months, Diddy was once arrested on gun ownership fees after he and his female friend on the time, Jennifer Lopez, fled a capturing that wounded 3 other people at a New York City nightclub. Witnesses informed police that he was once some of the other people capturing within the membership.

He was once later charged with providing his motive force $50,000 to say possession of the 9 mm handgun present in his automotive, however via 2001 he was once acquitted. A rapper in Diddy’s entourage named Jamal “Shyne” Barrows was once in the end convicted within the capturing and served nearly 9 years in jail.

In March 2008, Diddy settled a lawsuit introduced via a person who claimed the rapper punched him after a post-Oscar celebration outdoor a Hollywood resort in 2007.

Diddy was once arrested in 2015 after a disagreement at UCLA in Los Angeles, the place one in every of his sons performed soccer, after he assaulted any individual with a weight-room kettlebell. Diddy stated he was once protecting himself and the attack fees had been later dropped.

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If you or any individual you realize is experiencing abuse or is keen on an abusive state of affairs, please seek advice from the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime for assist. They also are reachable toll-free at 1-877-232-2610.

— With information from The Associated Press

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