Sean \u201cDiddy\u201d Combs was due in court Tuesday (September 17, 2024) on federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges that accuse him of hitting and abusing women for over a decade and presiding over an empire of sexual crimes.<\/p>\n
The music mogul \u201cengaged in a persistent and pervasive pattern of abuse toward women and other individuals,\u201d according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday (September 17, 2024).<\/p>\n
Detailing allegations dating to 2009, the indictment accuses him of abusing, threatening and coercing women for years \u201cto fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n
Combs had been arrested late Monday in Manhattan, roughly six months after federal authorities conducting a sex trafficking investigation raided his luxurious homes in Los Angeles and Miami.<\/p>\n
Over the past year, Combs has been sued by people who say he subjected them to physical or sexual abuse. He has denied many of those allegations, and his lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said outside the courthouse Tuesday morning that Combs would plead not guilty and that he would \u201cfight like hell\u201d to try to get his client released from custody.<\/p>\n
Of Combs, Agnifilo said, \u201cHis spirits are good. He\u2019s confident.\u201d<\/p>\n
The indictment accuses Combs of striking, punching and dragging women on numerous occasions, throwing objects and kicking them \u2014 and enlisting his personal assistants, security and household staff to help hide it all.<\/p>\n
The indictment describes Combs as the head of a criminal enterprise engaged in or attempting to engage in activities including sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, drug offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.<\/p>\n
Combs, 54, was recognized as one of the most influential figures in hip-hop before a flood of allegations that emerged over the past year turned him into an industry pariah.<\/p>\n
In November, his former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, filed a lawsuit saying he had beaten and raped her for years. She accused Combs of coercing her, and others, into unwanted sex in drug-fueled settings.<\/p>\n
The suit was settled in one day but months later CNN aired hotel security footage showing Combs punching and kicking Cassie and throwing her on a floor. After the video aired, Combs apologized, saying, \u201cI was disgusted when I did it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Combs and his attorneys, however, denied similar allegations made by others in a string of lawsuits.<\/p>\n
Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer for Cassie, said in a statement Tuesday that \u201cneither Ms. Ventura nor I have any comment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe appreciate your understanding and if that changes, we will certainly let you know,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
A woman said Combs raped her two decades ago when she was 17. A music producer sued, saying Combs forced him to have sex with prostitutes. Another woman, April Lampros, said Combs subjected her to \u201cterrifying sexual encounters,\u201d starting when she was a college student in 1994.<\/p>\n
The AP does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie and Lampros did.<\/p>\n
Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, has gotten out of legal trouble before.<\/p>\n
In 2001, he was acquitted of charges related to a Manhattan nightclub shooting two years earlier that injured three people. His then-protege, Shyne, was convicted of assault and other charges and served about eight years in prison.<\/p>\n