Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs forced women into ‘freak offs’, jurors told – as hotel CCTV is played in court
Sean “Diddy” Combs’s public persona was that of a “charismatic” hip-hop mogul – but behind the scenes he forced women into “freak off” sexual encounters with escorts and blackmailed them with videos, prosecutors alleged during the first day of his trial.
In the courtroom in Manhattan, New York, Combs blew a kiss to his mother and family members supporting him, before listening intently as opening statements from the prosecution and defence outlined the details of the high-profile case.
The hip-hop mogul, 55, has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution, and strenuously denied all allegations of sexual abuse.
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Sean Combs’s family arrive at court
His defence lawyers say all sexual encounters were consensual and that the case is really about nothing more than Combs’s sexual preferences, which they say should remain private. Combs is a “flawed individual”, they argue, but not a racketeer or a sex trafficker.
The court also heard evidence from two witnesses – a former hotel security guard and a male escort.
But first, prosecutor Emily Johnson gave her opening statement.
“To the public, he was Puff Daddy or Diddy,” she told the court, describing Combs as a “business icon” and “larger than life”.
However, there was another side to the rapper, she says – a side that “ran a criminal enterprise”, she said. He sometimes “called himself the king”, Ms Johnson said, and expected to be treated like one.
“This is Sean Combs,” Ms Johnson told jurors as she pointed at Combs, who leaned back in his chair. “During this trial you are going to hear about 20 years of the defendant’s crimes.”
Those crimes, she said, included kidnapping, arson, drugs, sex crimes, bribery and obstruction.
There are no cameras in the court building, so court artists capture the scenes inside. Sketch: Reuters/Jane Rosenberg
Ms Johnson said Combs beat and sexually exploited his former long-term girlfriend Cassie, who was named in court, and compelled the singer and other women to take drugs and have sex with male escorts.
He threatened to ruin Cassie’s career by publicly releasing videos of these sexual encounters, which were dubbed “freak offs”, jurors heard.
“Her livelihood depended on keeping him happy,” the prosecutor said.
Jurors will hear testimonies from alleged victims who will talk about “some of the most painful experiences of their lives”, Ms Johnson continued. “The days they spent in hotel rooms, high on drugs, dressed in costumes to perform the defendant’s sexual fantasies.”
Combs and Cassie pictured in 2017. Pic: zz/XPX/STAR MAX/IPx 2017/AP
‘This is not a complicated case’
But Teny Geragos, who is on Combs’s defence team, painted a very different picture.
“Sean Combs is a complicated man,” she told the court. “But this is not a complicated case. This case is about love, jealousy, infidelity and money.”
Ms Geragos conceded that Combs could be violent and said she understood some jurors might not condone this, nor his “kinky sex”. But the rapper is “not charged with being mean”, she said, and his lifestyle may have been indulgent, but it was not illegal.
She also claimed Combs’s accusers were motivated by money.
Cassie hotel footage shown in court
Pic: CNN via AP May 2024
After the opening statements, the first witness, Israel Florez, was called to the stand.
Now a police officer in LA, in March 2016, Mr Florez worked as a security guard at a hotel in Los Angeles, where Combs was filmed on CCTV seemingly attacking R&B singer and model Cassie, whose full name is Casandra Ventura.
After CNN aired video of the attack last year, the rapper apologised in a video on social media and said he was “disgusted” by his actions.
Video footage of this incident was shown in court as Mr Florez gave his testimony.
He told the court he recognised Combs after responding to a call of a woman in distress on the sixth floor of the hotel. The rapper was wearing only a towel and socks, Mr Florez told the court, and had “a blank stare, like a devilish stare, just looking at me”.
He said that as he was escorting Ms Ventura and Combs to their room, she indicated she wanted to leave and the rapper told her: “You’re not going to leave.”
Combs then offered him money and told him “don’t tell nobody”, Mr Florez said.
Read more:
The rise and fall of Sean Combs
Diddy – a timeline of allegations
Everything you need to know about the trial
The second witness, Daniel Phillip, used to work as a male escort, the court was told. He said he met Ms Ventura at a hotel in Manhattan, where he thought he was attending a bachelorette party.
However, he said he ended up having sex with Ms Ventura as Combs watched and masturbated, and that he was paid several thousand dollars.
Mr Phillip said he had several subsequent encounters with the then couple, which lasted between an hour and 10 hours, and that he witnessed or heard the rapper being violent on two occasions.
He told the court he did not intervene as Combs was powerful, and that he feared for his life. His evidence will continue tomorrow.
The trial is expected to last about eight weeks. Combs faces up to life in prison if he is convicted.
Children are among the fatalities in a mass shooting at a child’s birthday party in California.
Police said four people had died and 10 were wounded in the incident in Stockton, about 60 miles east of San Francisco.
Officers were called on Saturday to a banquet hall just before 6pm local time (2am UK time) and district attorney Ron Freitas said children were among the dead.
He said the attacker was still at large.
First responders walk through a parking lot near the scene of a mass shooting in Stockton, California. Pics: AP
“We can confirm at this time that approximately 14 individuals were struck by gunfire, and four victims have been confirmed deceased,” San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said on X.
The post said early indications suggest it could be a “targeted incident” but that information remains limited.
Police have so far not disclosed the attacker’s identity and the motive is unclear.
Stockton’s vice mayor Jason Lee confirmed on Facebook that the shooting on Lucile Avenue happened at a child’s birthday party.
Pics: AP
Mayor Christina Fugazzi also said that “families should be together instead of at the hospital, standing next to their loved one, praying that they survive”.
California governor Gavin Newsom’s office added that he had been briefed on the “horrific shooting”.
Venezuela has accused Donald Trump of a “colonial threat” after he said the airspace “above and surrounding” the country should be considered closed “in its entirety”.
Mr Trump made the declaration amid growing tensions with President Maduro – and as the US continues attacking boats it claims are carrying drugs from Venezuela.
He wrote on Truth Social: “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”
Air traffic above Venezuela on Saturday afternoon. Pic: FlightRadar24
Venezuela’s foreign affairs office called it a “colonial threat” and “illegal, and unjustified aggression”.
It accused the president of threatening “the sovereignty of the national airspace… and the full sovereignty of the Venezuelan state”.
President Trump’s words were part of a “permanent policy of aggression against our country” that breached international law and the UN Charter, it added.
The Pentagon and the White House have so far not given any additional detail on the president’s statement.
Mr Trump’s post comes after the American aviation regulator last week warned of a “potentially hazardous situation” over Venezuela due to a “worsening security situation”.
Nicolas Maduro is widely considered a dictator by the West. Pic: Reuters
The South American nation revoked operating rights for six major airlines that went on to suspend flights to the country.
Mr Trump warned a few days ago that land operations against suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers would begin “very soon”.
Such a move would be a major escalation in Operation Southern Spear – the US naval deployment in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific that’s so far attacked at least 21 vessels.
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Three killed as US strikes another alleged drug boat
Venezuela has said the attacks, which have killed more than 80 people, amount to murder.
The US has released videos of boats being targeted, but hasn’t provided evidence – such as photos of their cargo – to support the smuggling claims.
Read more:
Trump may have another motive in war on drugs
The US-Venezuela crisis explained
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Venezuela claims Trump creating ‘fables’ to justify ‘war’
The Pentagon has sought to justify the strikes by labelling the drug gangs as “foreign terrorist organisations” – putting them on par with the likes of al Qaeda.
It claims the boats targeted are carrying drugs bound for the US, although Sky’s chief correspondent says the final destination is likely to be Europe and West Africa.
President Maduro has denied Mr Trump’s claims he is involved in the drugs trade himself and said his counterpart wants to oust him so he can install a more sympathetic government.
Venezuelan officials have also claimed Mr Trump’s true motivation is access to the country’s plentiful oil reserves.
Mr Maduro is widely considered a dictator who’s cheated elections and has been president since 2013.
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