Sean 'Diddy' Combs sentenced to prison after sex trafficking charges – Daily Local

By LARRY NEUMEISTER, MICHAEL R. SISAK and JENNIFER PELTZ

NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs was scheduled to go to jail Tuesday to await trial on sex trafficking charges in federal court after a judge ordered him held without bail on suspicion of running a sordid sex crimes empire.

The music mogul pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to organized crime conspiracy and sex trafficking charges, accusing him of luring female victims and male sex workers into drugged, sometimes day-long sexual performances known as “freak offs.”

The charges against him also allege that he coerced and abused women for years, using blackmail and shocking acts of violence to keep his victims submissive. They indirectly refer to an attack on his former girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie, that was caught on video.

Prosecutors wanted to send him to prison. His lawyers proposed releasing him on $50 million bail and placing him under house arrest with electronic monitoring. US Judge Robyn Tarnofsky sided with the government.

Combs, 54, took a long drink from a water bottle and was then led out of the courtroom without handcuffs. As he walked out, he addressed family members seated in the audience.

“Mr. Combs is a fighter. He will fight to the end. He is innocent,” said his lawyer Marc Agnifilo after the hearing. He initially said he would appeal the bail decision.

The Bad Boy Records founder is accused of hitting, punching, dragging, throwing objects at and kicking women – all while using his personal assistants, security guards and domestic staff to cover it all up.

“Not guilty,” Combs said in court. After hearing the charges, he stood and spoke with his hands folded in his lap, uncuffed.

The federal prosecutor's office described him as dangerous.

“Mr. Combs physically and sexually abused victims for decades. He used the vast resources of his company to enable his abuse and cover up his crimes. Simply put, he is a serial offender and a serial obstructor,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson said in court. She also said he has an “extensive and extensive history of obstruction of justice,” including alleged bribery and witness intimidation.

Agnifilo acknowledged that Combs was “not a perfect person.” He had used drugs and had “toxic relationships,” but was undergoing treatment and therapy.

“The evidence in this case is extremely problematic,” the lawyer told the court.

He claimed the case stemmed from a long-term, consensual relationship that was derailed by infidelity. He did not name the woman, but the details matched those of Combs' 10-year relationship with Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura.

Agnifilo claimed that the “freak offs” were an extension of that relationship and did not represent coercion.

“Is this sex trafficking? Not if everyone wants to be involved,” Agnifilo said, arguing that authorities were invading his client's private life.

But prosecutors said in court filings that they had already interviewed more than 50 victims and witnesses and expected the number to rise. They said they would use financial, travel and billing records, electronic data and communications, and videos of the “freak offs” to prove their case.

Combs sometimes nodded while his lawyer spoke, and occasionally leaned forward to speak to them when they were not speaking. The impresario watched other parts of the proceedings expressionlessly, looking straight ahead.

Combs 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.

If convicted on all counts, a prison sentence of 15 years, possibly even life imprisonment, would be required.

The indictment describes Combs as the head of a criminal organization that was involved or attempted to be involved in sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for the purpose of prostitution, drug offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.

Combs and his associates used his “power and prestige” to intimidate and seduce women, “often under the guise of a romantic relationship,” the indictment states.

It says he then used violence, threats and coercion to get the women to participate in “freak offs” with male sex workers – “elaborate and staged sex performances” that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during and often recorded, creating dozens of videos.

Sometimes he arranged for the women to fly in and secured their participation by procuring and providing drugs, controlling their careers, using his financial support, and through intimidation and violence, the indictment says.

The incidents lasted several days and Combs and the victims were often given intravenous fluids to recover from the exertion and drug use, the indictment says.

His staff are said to have facilitated the “freak offs” by arranging trips, booking hotel rooms, stocking them with supplies such as medication and baby oil, scheduling the delivery of IV fluids and cleaning the rooms afterward.

During searches of Combs' homes earlier this year, officials seized drugs, videos of the “Freak Offs” and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, according to prosecutors. They said agents also seized firearms and ammunition, including three AR-15s with obliterated serial numbers — two of them broken into pieces in his Miami bedroom closet.

Combs' attorney said the guns in his home were not his property and pointed out that he employs a security company.

The indictment portrays Combs as a violent man who choked and shoved people, punched and kicked victims and sometimes pulled their hair, causing injuries that often took days or weeks to heal. His co-workers and colleagues sometimes witnessed his violence and stopped victims from leaving or tracked down those who tried, the indictment says.

It is alleged that Combs sometimes kept videos of victims engaging in sexual acts and used the recordings as “collateral” to force the women's obedience and silence. According to the indictment, he also exerted control over the victims by promising them career opportunities, providing and threatening to withhold financial support, dictating how they should look, monitoring their health records and controlling where they lived.

When the threat of prosecution loomed, Combs and his accomplices pressured witnesses and victims to remain silent, offered them bribes and provided false accounts of events, the indictment says.

In a court document, prosecutors accused Combs and an unidentified accomplice of kidnapping someone at gunpoint just days before Christmas 2011 to facilitate a burglary of another person's home. Two weeks later, they wrote, Combs set fire to another person's vehicle by cutting open the convertible top and throwing a Molotov cocktail inside.

All of this, prosecutors allege, happened behind the facade of Combs' global music, lifestyle and clothing company.

“One year ago, Sean Combs stood in Times Square and was handed the key to New York City. Today, he was indicted and must face justice,” Manhattan-based U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Combs returned the key in June after Mayor Eric Adams requested it back.

Combs was considered one of the most influential figures in hip-hop before a flood of allegations emerged last year.

In November, Ventura 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-related situations.

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

The indictment refers to the attack, but does not name Ventura, and says Combs tried to bribe a hotel security guard to keep quiet about it.

Douglas Wigdor, an attorney for Ventura, declined to comment Tuesday.

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

The AP does not typically name people who report sexual abuse unless they come forward publicly, like Ventura.

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This story has been corrected to show that Combs is 54, not 58.

Originally published: September 17, 2024 at 7:01 am