TRIAL BEGINS
Diddy jury is told Cassie attack & sick ‘souvenir tapes’ are ‘tip of iceberg’ in sex trafficking trial opening statement
The disgraced rap mogul faces five criminal counts including sex trafficking
SEAN "Diddy" Combs is accused of threatening his ex-girlfriend with sick tapes of his alleged sex crimes in just the "tip of the iceberg" of his federal sex trafficking trial, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors revealed a chilling account of Combs' alleged abuse of Casandra "Cassie" Ventura in opening statements in the disgraced rap mogul's trial in Federal District Court in Manhattan on Monday.
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Combs, 55, is being tried over allegations of racketeering and sex trafficking.
The rapper sat stone-faced in court as opening statements of the landmark trial kicked off on Monday after the jury, consisting of eight men and four women, was seated.
Prosecutor Emily Johnson said the music mogul was a "larger than life" celebrity who ran a crime ring with the help of an "inner circle" of employees.
She gave an example of Combs allegedly violently attacking Ventura after he learned she was spending time with a new man.
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It comes as...
- Combs turned down plea deal days before jury selection got underway
- Potential jurors were given a list of 190 celebrities they recognized
- Reason Michael B. Jordan was named during the jury selection process revealed
- Combs was hit with fresh prostitution and sex trafficking charges just months before his trial started
- The music sensation was arrested in September 2024 at a New York City hotel hours after he was seen relaxing in Central Park
- In March 2024, two of Combs' mansions were raided by federal investigators, who seized three AR-15s, drugs, and 1,000 bottles of lube which were part of his so-called "freak-off" supplies
- The arrest came after Combs' ex Cassie Ventura accused him in a lawsuit of physically and sexually abusing her for years
Johnson alleged Combs brutally beat Ventura and threatened to release a video of her at one of his alleged drug-fueled sex orgies, which he called freak-offs, to keep control of her.
"So he threatened her and said if she defies her again he will release video of her having sex with male escorts," Johnson told the jury on Monday.
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"Souvenirs of the most humiliating nights of her life."
She continued, "This is just the tip of the iceberg in 20 years of Combs using his inner circle to cover up crime after crime."
Diddy locked eyes with us as he entered the courtroom - inside the trial of the decade
By Israel S-Rodriguez, Senior News Reporter at The U.S. Sun:
The federal sex trafficking trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs began with jury selection on May 5.
Combs is standing trial at the Southern District of New York Courthouse in Lower Manhattan - an intimidating federal courthouse where the cases of Ghislaine Maxwell, Donald Trump, and Bernard Madoff, among others, were tried.
Once a powerful founder of a music and business empire, Combs has been reduced to a defendant, inmate 37452-054, stripped of his mogul status, and now standing trial on five federal charges with the full wrath of the United States government against him.
When I attended Day 3 of jury selection at the federal courthouse on May 7, the buzz around the start of the trial was palpable.
Hours before the courthouse opened its doors, more than a dozen reporters and members of the public stood in line in hopes of securing a seat in the gallery for the high-profile trial.
As you walk through the glass door entrance of the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse, you are met by bulletproof vest-clad court officers.
All visitors must separate their electronic devices from their personal belongings, which are passed through a metal detector.
Visitors walk through a metal detector before a court officer hands them a poker chip.
The courthouse uses a poker chip system to sort the number of electronic devices visitors are in possession of.
Electronic devices, such as Bluetooth-powered headphones, voice recorders, laptops, cellphones, and smart watches, are confiscated before you're allowed to enter the courthouse's main hallway.
As about a half-dozen reporters and I waited in the gallery for jury selection, we witnessed how Combs entered the courtroom shackle-free.
Combs entered with his hands pressed together, greeted his defense team before he examined the gallery, and locked eyes with reporters and potential jurors.
The 55-year-old disgraced Bad Boy Records executive was attentive and engaged with his counsel as they grilled dozens of potential jurors.
As jury selection wrapped up for the day, Combs embraced each of his female defense attorneys before he mouthed "thank you" to a handful of supporters in the gallery.
Combs' trial is being held on the 26th floor in Judge Arun Subramanian's courtroom and is expected to last for eight weeks.
We'll bring it all to you on The U.S. Sun.
Prosecutors warned jurors to brace themselves for disturbing details of the freak-offs as Combs is accused of forcing Ventura and then a witness identified as Jane Doe to have sex with him in front of male escorts.
In one incident, Combs told a male escort to urinate in Ventura's mouth, which led her to feel like she was "choking," the prosecutor claimed.
Johnson said Ventura first agreed to participate in the freak-offs to make Combs happy, but they became violent as the rapper beat her for taking too long in the bathroom or leaving the hotel nights early.
Meanwhile, Jane, a single mom, met Combs in 2020 and quickly was trapped under Combs' control, prosecutors said.
Johnson said Combs forced Jane to have unprotected sex with escorts and do drugs at his alleged sick hotel marathons.
"She wanted the escorts to wear condoms but he would not let them, then he would make her take drugs, she broke down and took ecstasy," Johnson told jurors.
"One time she vomited, he told her to hurry up and get back in the room where an escort was waiting."
Combs' former personal assistant, identified as Mia, will also be testifying during the case, prosecutors said in opening statements.
"She is just beginning to grapple with the times he forced himself on her sexually - she wanted to keep the secret to her grave," Johnson said.
The rapper has denied all allegations.
'COMPLICATED MAN'
During opening statements, his team insisted Combs is being demonized for his sexual preferences.
"Combs is a complicated man, but this is not a complicated case," his attorney, Teny Geragos, said on Monday.
Combs is arguing that his freak-offs were sexual escapades between consenting adults.
"This case is about Sean Combs' private personal sex life," Geragos said.
"The government has no place in his private bedrooms. They say it is not about his private sex life, but the evidence will show that it is."
Geragos insisted that the thousand baby oil bottles found in Combs' mansions during a raid last year were because of his "love" of baby oil - which isn't a federal crime.
COURTROOM SCENE
The disgraced rap mogul's family was seen arriving as his mom and six of his children packed the gallery at the New York City courthouse.
His mom, Janice Combs, watched on from the second row of the gallery along with six of her son's children.
As he entered the courtroom, Combs - dressed in a beige sweater and khaki pants - was spotted waving and blowing a kiss to his family before sitting down.
A court clerk reportedly then asked him if he wanted some water and Combs said, "I could use a little more if you don't mind."
The rap mogul's representative, Holly Baird, said the rap star is feeling upbeat about the trial due to the fact his whole family will be present, according to .
But Baird added that the family is understandably apprehensive.
As well as family members, Combs' accusers were also seen arriving at the courthouse.
Jaguar Wright - who has accused Combs of sexual abuse for years - was seen arriving at the trial.
Wright said the trial needs to be a reckoning for the music industry and that the rapper's day in court is long overdue, according to Sky News.
How America's sex traffickers use sports games to lure dads & docs into $40bn ring of evil - Diddy is 'tip of iceberg'
FIVE-COUNT INDICTMENT
Combs is being tried on five criminal counts, spanning over 20 years.
The disgraced rapper is accused of and leading Bad Boy Records as a “criminal enterprise” for more than a decade.
He was originally being tried on three criminal charges before an additional two were added at a later date.
These included prostitution and sex trafficking.
Prosecutors claim the rapper used physical violence, promises of career opportunities, surveillance, threats to withhold financial support, and drugs to control his victims.
Combs has denied the allegations, and his legal team has claimed that the activities described were "consensual" and that there was nothing illegal about his swinger lifestyle.
He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
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Combs was previously offered a chance to accept a plea deal from prosecutors in court, which would have reduced any final sentence and allowed him to leave jail at an earlier date.
But he rejected the offer at a hearing in a Manhattan federal court, meaning he now faces a more severe sentence if he is convicted at trial.
The trial is expected to last at least eight weeks, during which the jury will hear testimonies from three or possibly four of Combs' female accusers.
Diddy's downfall
By The U.S. Sun's Senior Reporter Forrest McFarland, who has been reporting on Diddy's legal battles for years
BEFORE Sean "Diddy" Combs' arrest in September, it was highly speculated that the rap star would find himself in custody after he was repeatedly hit with disturbing accusations - and had two of his mansions raided by the feds.
His mounting legal troubles finally came to a head on September 17, when he was charged with three federal counts, including sex trafficking, for allegedly forcing victims to take part in drug-fueled sex parties he called "freak-offs."
Hours before his arrest, The U.S. Sun exclusively revealed the feds investigating Combs were secretly liaising with Tupac Shakur murder prosecutors on gangland activities.
The development also came after Combs was named 77 times in documents submitted by prosecutors in the Tupac murder case.
Aside from the Tupac probe, Combs was already facing a slew of lawsuits, including one he settled with his ex, Cassie Ventura, after she accused him of rape and abuse.
Disturbing hotel surveillance video from 2016 showed Combs chasing Cassie down and then punching, kicking, and beating her in a hallway.
Two months earlier, in March 2024, two of Combs' mansions were raided by federal investigators, who seized three AR-15s, drugs, and 1,000 bottles of lube which were part of his freak-off supplies.
In addition to his federal criminal charges, Combs also faces a handful of lawsuits with allegations of sexual assault, harassment, and sex trafficking dating back to the early 1990s.
Music producer Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones filed one suit in February 2024, claiming Combs forced him to hire sex workers and participate in sex acts while he worked on his latest album.
Combs has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to the federal sex trafficking charges against him, but his battle is far from over.
He faces life in prison if he's convicted on all counts.
Among these are the rapper's former girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, also known as Cassie.
A shocking video released by CNN in May last year appears to show Combs violently assaulting Cassie at a hotel in Los Angeles in 2016.
The horrifying footage showed the rapper chasing his girlfriend down before brutally punching, kicking, and beating her in a hallway.
He publicly apologized for his shocking behavior after the video was released, saying, "I was disgusted then when I did it.
"I'm disgusted now."
The three other female accusers are expected to testify under pseudonyms.
But the bulk of the trial testimony is likely to come from investigators and other witnesses including former employees who are believed to have helped arrange and cover up his actions
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Elsewhere, a slew of lawsuits are also stacked against Combs accusing him of dozens of sexual assaults over the past 20 years.
Among these 50 lawsuits is one by an accuser who says he was 10 years old at the time of the alleged assault.
Many of these alleged incidents are said to have occurred at meetings and Combs' infamous parties.
He has denied the allegations in the civil cases and his lawyers have called them "meritless" and part of a "reckless media circus."
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
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