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NEW YORK – Hip-hop impresario Sean “Diddy” Combs erstwhile presided similar a prince implicit his White Parties successful the Hamptons, attracting A-list celebrities, gossip columnists and photographers. But astatine a proceedings starting Monday, prosecutors volition formed the entertainer arsenic a transgression intersexual deviant who exploited his fame to maltreatment women astatine gatherings held acold retired of nationalist view.
For implicit 2 decades, prosecutors allege, the Bad Boy Records laminitis utilized the powerfulness and prestige he’d gained successful gathering a hip-hop empire to destruct young lives.
He faces an indictment that includes descriptions of “Freak Offs,” drugged-up orgies successful which women were forced to person enactment with antheral enactment workers portion Combs filmed them.
Numerous witnesses person travel guardant to impeach Combs of terrorizing radical into soundlessness by choking, hitting, kicking and dragging them, often by the hair, prosecutors say. Once, the indictment alleges, helium adjacent dangled idiosyncratic from a balcony.
Combs' lawyers contend prosecutors are trying to constabulary consensual intersexual activity.
And portion Combs, 55, has acknowledged 1 occurrence of violence — the caught-on-camera beating of his erstwhile girlfriend, R&B vocalist Cassie — his lawyers accidental different allegations are false.
Jury enactment is scheduled to statesman Monday astatine a national courthouse successful Manhattan. Testimony volition apt commencement the pursuing week.
If convicted connected each charges, which see racketeering conspiracy, enactment trafficking, and transporting radical crossed authorities lines to prosecute successful prostitution, Combs faces a imaginable condemnation of decades successful prison.
Investigation followed Cassie lawsuit
Although dozens of men and women person alleged successful lawsuits that Combs abused them, this proceedings volition item the claims of 4 women.
One of them is Cassie, who filed a lawsuit successful precocious 2023 saying Combs had subjected her to years of abuse, including beatings and rape aft they met successful 2005.
The Associated Press does not typically sanction radical who accidental they person been sexually abused unless they travel guardant publicly, arsenic Cassie, whose ineligible sanction is Casandra Ventura, did.
Her lawsuit, which offered the archetypal nationalist relationship of the Freak Offs described successful the indictment, was settled successful a day. Four months later, though, national investigators raided Combs homes successful Los Angeles and Miami and confronted him astatine a backstage airdrome successful Florida, seizing 96 physics devices. They besides recovered 3 AR-15-style rifles with defaced serial numbers.
The three-time Grammy victor was indicted past September. He has since been held successful a national jailhouse successful Brooklyn aft judges ruled that helium would beryllium a menace to intimidate witnesses and victims if released.
The 17-page indictment against Combs accuses him of utilizing employees of his concern endeavors — including grounds labels, a signaling studio, an apparel line, an alcoholic spirits company, a selling agency, a tv web and a media institution — to facilitate his crimes done acts that included kidnapping, arson and bribery.
Prosecutors program to amusement jurors question records, substance messages and emails, edifice records and videos to supplement grounds and enactment their claims astir what they telephone “Freak Off activity.”
Jurors volition besides spot information camera video showing Combs punching, kicking and past dragging Cassie successful the hallway of a Los Angeles edifice successful 2016.
After the video aired connected CNN past year, Combs apologized, saying, “I instrumentality afloat work for my actions successful that video. I was disgusted past erstwhile I did it. I’m disgusted now."
Defense says Freak Offs were consensual
Combs' attorney, Marc Agnifilo, said astatine a bail proceeding that Combs wrote “a precise ample check” to Cassie aft she filed her lawsuit. The lawyer said the payout motivated others to travel guardant with mendacious claims.
Agnifilo said Combs was “not a cleanable person” and that determination had been cause usage and toxic relationships, but helium said the rapper was undergoing therapy earlier his arrest.
He said Cassie and Combs were successful a 10-year narration that was “very loving astatine times” and sometimes chose to bring a 3rd idiosyncratic into their intimacy.
“That was their thing,” helium said. “It was a sought-after, peculiar portion of their relationship.”
The proceedings is not Combs’ first. In 2001, helium was acquitted of bringing an amerciable handgun into a crowded Manhattan creation nine wherever 3 radical were wounded by gunfire. A rapper successful Combs’ entourage, Jamal Barrow, who performed nether the sanction Shyne, was convicted successful the shooting and served astir 9 years successful prison.
At a pretrial league Thursday, Combs confirmed to a justice that helium turned down a plea connection that would person carried a lesser punishment than what helium mightiness look if helium is convicted astatine his upcoming trial.
Just earlier helium near the courtroom aft the hearing, helium defiantly shook his fist successful the air.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.
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