Sex Trafficking: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial to begin on Monday
Jury selection is set to begin Monday in New York for the highly anticipated federal trial of music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who faces grave charges including sex trafficking and racketeering.
The 55-year-old is accused of running a criminal enterprise that allegedly used threats, violence, and manipulation to coerce victims into drug-fueled sexual acts. Combs has pleaded not guilty, asserting that all encounters were consensual.
At a recent court hearing, Combs’s attorney, Marc Agnifilo, outlined the defense’s approach, portraying his client’s conduct as part of a consensual “swinger” lifestyle.
Prosecutors confirmed that a plea offer had been made, though its terms remain undisclosed. Combs declined the deal.
ALSO READ: Sex trafficking: Sean “Diddy” Combs declines US guilty plea deal offer
SEAN DIDDY COMBS COULD BE IN FOR A LIFE SENTENCE
If convicted, the former rap mogul, widely credited with helping bring hip-hop into the cultural mainstream, could face a life sentence.
Once a regular presence at red carpet events and celebrity galas, Combs now awaits trial from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, a facility known for overcrowding and poor conditions. He has been in custody since his September 2024 arrest and has been denied bail multiple times.
Jury selection is expected to last about a week, with opening statements scheduled for May 12.
The timing carries a striking contrast: while celebrities will walk the red carpet at the Met Gala that Monday, Combs will face potential jurors in a downtown courtroom.
- FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: Get the most important news on your social media feed
- FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK: Get the most important news on your social media feed
- FOLLOW US ON X: Get the most important news on your social media feed
TESTIMONY EXPECTED FROM COMB’S FORMER GIRLFRIEND
Central to the case is testimony expected from Combs’s former girlfriend, singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura. A 2016 surveillance video, recently aired by CNN, shows Combs physically assaulting Ventura at a hotel and will be partially presented to the jury. Prosecutors claim the incident followed one of several alleged coercive sex parties, referred to as “freak-offs,” which they say involved drugs, sex workers, and were sometimes filmed.
Judge Arun Subramanian has ruled that portions of the video will be admissible as evidence, despite legal disputes over its quality and relevance.
Combs is charged under the federal RICO statute, typically used in organized crime cases, which allows prosecutors to link various criminal acts as part of a broader pattern of illegal activity.
While Combs has consistently denied any wrongdoing, his career has long been dogged by allegations of sexual and physical abuse dating back to the 1990s. The current case gained traction after Ventura filed a civil lawsuit in 2023, accusing Combs of over a decade of abuse and rape. Although that suit was settled privately, it spurred a series of new allegations from other alleged victims, both male and female, and led to federal raids on Combs’s residences in Miami and Los Angeles.
READ MORE: DIASPORA LENS
