Sean “Diddy” Combs expected in court after charges filed

NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs was scheduled to appear before a federal judge in New York on Tuesday after being charged with unspecified crimes.

The music mogul was arrested late Monday in Manhattan, about six months after federal authorities raided his luxury homes in Los Angeles and Miami as part of a sex trafficking investigation.

According to US Attorney Damian Williams, the indictment containing the exact allegations should be unsealed on Tuesday morning.

Over the past year, Combs has been sued by several people who claim he physically or sexually abused them. He has denied many of those allegations, and his attorney, Marc Agnifilo, called the new charges an “unjustified prosecution.”

“He is an imperfect human being, but he is not a criminal,” Agnifilo said in a statement late Monday.

Combs, 58, was considered one of the most influential figures in hip-hop before a flood of allegations over the past year turned him into an outsider in the industry.

In November, his ex-girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie, filed a lawsuit claiming he beat and raped her for years. She accused Combs of forcing her and others to have unwanted sex in drug-fueled environments.

The case was settled within a day, but months later, CNN aired hotel security footage showing Combs punching, kicking and throwing Cassie to the ground. After the video aired, Combs apologized, saying, “I was disgusted when I did that.”

However, Combs and his lawyers have denied similar allegations made by others in a series of lawsuits.

One woman said Combs raped her 20 years ago, when she was 17. A music producer sued Combs, claiming he forced him to have sex with prostitutes. Another woman, April Lampros, said Combs subjected her to “horrific sexual encounters,” beginning in 1994, when she was a college student.

The AP typically does not name people who report sexual abuse unless they come forward publicly, as was the case with Cassie and Lampros.

Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, has gotten out of legal trouble before.

In 2001, he was acquitted of charges related to a shooting at a Manhattan nightclub two years earlier that left three people injured. His then-protégé, Shyne, was convicted of assault and other charges and served about eight years in prison.

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Associated Press writer Andrew Dalton contributed to this report from Los Angeles.

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