- American rapper Diddy has denied the charges of sex trafficking and racketeering against him.
- The 54-year-old hip-hop mogul was taken into custody at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan, New York, on Monday.
- The rapper faces accusations of sex trafficking by force, transporting individuals for prostitution, and being part of a racketeering conspiracy.
American rapper Diddy has denied the charges of sex trafficking and racketeering against him.
The 54-year-old hip-hop mogul was taken into custody at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan, New York, on Monday. He faces accusations of sex trafficking by force, transporting individuals for prostitution, and being part of a racketeering conspiracy.
The indictment, revealed on Tuesday, September 17, claims he operated an “enterprise involved in sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, and other crimes.”
He entered a not guilty plea to three felony charges during his first court appearance on Tuesday, where he was brought into the courtroom by US marshals in front of US Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky.
The indictment included accusations from 2008, claiming that Combs had a long history of abusing, threatening, and coercing women. “to fulfill his s3xual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct”.
He is accused of inducing female victims and male s3x workers into drugged-up, sometimes days-long s3xual performances dubbed “Freak Offs” in the indictment.
Marc Agnifilo, Combs’ lawyer, spoke outside the courthouse on Tuesday morning, announcing that Combs plans to plead not guilty and that he will “fight fiercely” to get his client out of custody.
During a press conference this afternoon, the US attorney for the southern district of New York, Damian Williams, addressed the media.”I’m not taking anything off the table” when asked about more charges being brought against Combs and his associates, adding: “We are not done.”
Mr Williams alleged that Combs used his business empire “to carry out criminal activity, including s3x trafficking, forced labour, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and the obstruction of justice”.
The indictment also claims that Combs used his employees “including high-ranking supervisors in the business, personal assistants, security staff and household staff…. to facilitate the Freak Offs”.
Mr Williams said: “They booked the hotel rooms and stocked them with the supplies, including drugs, baby oil, personal lubricant, extra linens and lighting.
“When the hotel rooms got damaged, they helped clean it up. They arranged for victims and commercial sex workers to travel for the Freak Offs, and they delivered large quantities of cash to Combs to pay for the commercial s3x workers.”
Mr Williams also said that Combs often recorded the “Freak Offs” and used the recordings “as collateral against the victims”.
Combs maintained control over his victims “by giving them drugs, by giving and threatening to take away financial support or housing, by promising them career opportunities, by monitoring their whereabouts, and even by dictating their physical appearance,” Mr Williams said.
The drugs allegedly used by Combs – which included ketamine, ecstasy and GHB – were intended to keep victims “obedient and compliant”, the attorney said.
“When Combs didn’t get his way, he was violent and he subjected victims [to] physical, emotional, and verbal abuse so that they would participate in the Freak Offs, and… Combs hit, kicked, threw objects at, and dragged victims at times by their hair,” Mr Williams said.
“The indictment alleges that the victims did not believe they could refuse Combs without risking their security or facing more abuse,” he added.
Combs, once known as Puff Daddy and P Diddy, was a key figure in hip-hop until November. His former girlfriend, R&B artist Cassie, filed a lawsuit accusing him of years of physical and sexual abuse.
Cassie, whose full name is Casandra Ventura, claimed that Combs pressured her and others into non-consensual sexual acts in drug-influenced environments.
The case was settled quickly, but months later, CNN broadcast security footage from a hotel that showed Combs attacking Cassie by punching, kicking, and throwing her down.
After the video, Combs apologised, saying, “I was disgusted when I did it.”
Combs has been involved in multiple civil lawsuits from both women and men who have accused him of sexual assault and other inappropriate behavior.
