Sean Combs, the renowned rapper and music mogul also known as P Diddy or Puff Daddy, has recently found himself embroiled in legal controversies.
On Monday, September 16, Combs was apprehended by federal agents in New York following several months of civil lawsuits accusing him of sex trafficking, sexual abuse, and rape.
Currently, he is being detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, having been denied bail on two occasions.
According to The Independent, a newly unsealed indictment by federal prosecutors alleges that Combs and his associates coerced and abused women to satisfy his sexual desires, including forcing victims into recorded sexual activities, which he reportedly referred to as “Freak Outs.”
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Combs’ lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, has staunchly defended his client, describing him as “an innocent man.”
In an email to The Independent, Agnifilo expressed disappointment with the US Attorney’s Office’s decision to pursue what he termed an unjust prosecution.
Sky News reports that the charges against Combs encompass sex trafficking, drug possession, and firearms offences.
The Southern District of New York has outlined three major charges in the legal indictment: racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The indictment, as detailed by Sky News, alleges that Combs has “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfil his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct” since at least 2008.
He is accused of using his employees, resources, and industry influence to create a “criminal enterprise” involved in various crimes, including sex trafficking, forced labour, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice.
Combs is further accused of coercing female victims and male sex workers into participating in drug-fuelled sexual acts, referred to in the legal document as “Freak Offs.”
The document mentions “Freak Offs” 16 times, describing them as elaborate, staged sexual performances orchestrated, directed, and often recorded by Combs, who also participated in the acts.
Prosecutors claim that victims were administered controlled substances during events that sometimes lasted for days, keeping them “obedient and compliant.”
Combs allegedly subjected them to “physical, emotional, and verbal abuse” to compel their participation.
The indictment also alleges that Combs and his business associates engaged in acts of violence, threats of harm, both physical and reputational, and verbal abuse.
These acts reportedly included kidnapping and arson when individuals who witnessed the alleged abuse challenged his authority or reputation.
Furthermore, the Independent has listed all the allegations against Sean Combs, noting that lawsuits against the rapper began on November 16, 2023, when singer and dancer Casandra Ventura, also known as Cassie, his former partner, accused him of years of abuse.
Casandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura
R&B singer Casandra Ventura, known as Cassie, filed a lawsuit in 2023 accusing Combs of subjecting her to a decade-long pattern of trafficking, rape, and physical abuse.
Surveillance footage from 2016, obtained by CNN on May 17, 2024, appeared to corroborate aspects of Ventura’s allegations, showing Combs chasing and violently assaulting her in a Los Angeles hotel corridor.
In a swift resolution, Ventura settled the lawsuit with Combs for an undisclosed sum just one day after filing, stating she preferred to “resolve this matter amicably.”
Also, Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith, a 51-year-old inmate, filed a lawsuit alleging that Combs drugged and sexually assaulted him at a party three decades ago, as revealed in court documents obtained by Detroit’s Metro Times.
Combs’ failure to attend a virtual hearing on September 9 resulted in a $100 million default judgment in favour of Cardello-Smith.
In February 2024, a lawsuit was filed in New York accusing Sean Combs of subjecting music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones to a prolonged campaign of sexual harassment, intimidation, and exploitation.
Jones, who worked for Combs from September 2022 to November 2023, alleged unwanted advances by Combs’ associates and being forced into encounters with sex workers hired by Combs.
In November 2023, Joie Dickerson-Neal filed a lawsuit accusing Combs of drugging, sexually assaulting, and secretly recording the assault without her consent in 1991, while she was a college student, according to NBC News, citing court documents.
Following the release of CCTV footage showing Combs attacking Ventura, former model Crystal McKinney filed a lawsuit in May alleging Combs sexually assaulted her at his New York City recording studio in 2003.
Shortly after McKinney’s lawsuit, April Lampros came forward, alleging Combs sexually assaulted her multiple times between 1995 and the early 2000s, following their initial meeting while she was a student.
Dawn Richard, a former bandmate, sued Sean “Diddy” Combs in New York federal court, alleging years of physical and sexual abuse starting in 2009.
Richard accuses Combs of withholding payment, groping, making lewd comments, physical violence, and death threats, also claiming he enabled the sexual exploitation of underage girls and abused singer Cassie.
Combs has denied all allegations and vowed to defend himself, pleading not guilty to all charges.
The 54-year-old’s lawyer said:
“Diddy is an imperfect person but is not a criminal.
“To his credit, Mr Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges.
“Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
