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NEW YORK (AP) — The public knew Sean “Diddy” Combs as a business mogul with more cultural icons than the real thing, but behind the scenes he forced women into drug-fueled sexual encounters and uses violence to use women, federal prosecutors told ju judges on Monday in a statement in combs’s sex trafficking trial statement.
“This is Sean Combs,” U.S. Attorney Aide Emily Johnson told the Manhattan ju judge, pointing to Combs leaning into his chair. ”… During this trial, you will hear about 20 years of the defendant’s crime. But he didn’t do it alone. He had bodyguards and high-ranking employees who helped him commit crimes and cover them up. ”
According to her, these crimes included temptation, arson, drugs, sex offences, bribery and obstruction.
On the contrary, Combs’ trial is a misguided overreach by prosecutors, who are trying to turn the sexual consent among adults into cases of prostitution and sex trafficking, Combs’ attorney Tenny Jelagos said during her opening.
“Shawn Combs is a complicated man. But this is not a complicated case. The case is about love, jealousy, infidelity and money,” Jelagos told eight men and four women on the ju appellant. “There’s been so much noise around this case over the past year. It’s time to cancel that noise.”
Geragos admitted that while Combs’ violent explosion, which is often fueled by alcohol and drugs, could guarantee domestic violence charges, he has not faced sex trafficking or assault. She also told the ju umpire that Combs is a “jerk” and may not tolerate his “kinky sex”, but “he has not been accused of being mean, he has not been accused of being a jerk.”
The comb, wearing a white sweater, entered the packed courtroom before 9am, hugging the lawyer and giving a thumbs up to the supporter sitting behind him. The case has attracted fierce public interest and the line to enter the courts stretches to the block. Combs’ mother and some of his children were escorted past the crowd and brought straight to the building.
Combs, 55, pleaded not guilty to a five-count indictment that would allow him to land in prison for at least 15 years if convicted of all charges. He has been held in federal prison in Brooklyn since his arrest in September.
The three-time Grammy Award-winning lawyer says the prosecutors are trying to mis-do the crime from a party-loving lifestyle that is not generous but may not be illegal.
Prosecutors say the comb was forced into sexual encounters in a drug-rich group called “Freak Off,” “Wild King Night,” or “Hotel Night.” He is often accused of suffocating, hitting, kicking and dragging women with his hair.
Johnson told the ju umpire about the night Combs allegedly invited employees and threatened former girlfriend R&B singer Cassie. Combs told Cathy that if she rebelled against him again, he would release a video showing her having sex with a male escort – a video that the prosecutor called “the most humiliating night of her life,” Johnson said.
It was “the tip of the iceberg,” Johnson said, telling the ju umpire that Cathy is far from the only woman on Combs who was beaten and sexually exploited.
Prosecutors said last year that Combs cruelly beat another woman – identified only as Jane – she confronted him about enduring years of unusual off in a dark hotel room while taking other paramars on date nights and on trips around the world.
Jelagos claimed that Combs and Jane had a “toxic and dysfunctional relationship” and she was willing to engage in freak off as she wanted to spend time with Comb. Their fight a year ago began when Jane slammed Combs on the head with a deep anger, Jelagos said.
Sex parties are at the heart of Comb’s sexual abuse, prosecutors say. Johnson said Combs’ company paid for parties held in hotel rooms in the US and abroad, and his employees staged the rooms with his favorite lighting, extra linen and lubricant. Comb forced women, including Cathy, to take drugs, escort men and sexually engaged in, and sometimes recorded, Johnson said.
Johnson said Combs would defeat Cathy with the smallest and smallest minority, such as leaving a “freak-off” without allowing it or taking too long. Prosecutors said Combs threatened to ruin Cathy’s singing career by revealing her in a public video of her engaged in sex with a male escort. “Her livelihood was dependent on keeping him happy,” Johnson said.
Combs sat blankly as he looked towards Johnson and the Juju judge as prosecutors explained that she was a pattern of violence, sexual abuse and threats.
Cathy, who was expected to be one of the first witnesses to testify, filed a lawsuit in 2023, claiming that combs had exposed her to years of abuse, including beating and rape. The lawsuit was resolved within hours of filing, but it was followed by dozens of cases from those making similar claims, touching on law enforcement investigations.
Jelagos argued that Combs’ accuser was motivated by money. She told the ju judge that Cathy would ask for $30 million when he sued him, and that another witness would allow him to ask for $22 million for breach of contract lawsuit.
“I want you to ask yourself, this witness, for millions of reasons, vows to tell the truth, and will he lie about anything other than the truth?” she said.
Prosecutors plan to show security camera footage of a comb ju umpire defeating Cathy in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.
Johnson told the ju umpire he would hear the length that Combs’ inner circle went to hide the attack and help him get what he thought was the only video recording. She said the security guard was given a $100,000 brown paper bag in cash, and the Combs bodyguard and head of staff were standing there. “This is far from the only time the defendant’s inner circle attempted to close his rank and take damage control.”
Another witness expected to testify Monday was the security guard at the hotel where Combs attacked Cathy.
After CNN aired a video of the attack last year, Combs apologised, saying he took “full responsibility” for his actions. “I was tired when I did it. I hate it now.”
Jelagos also admitted that Combs was very jealous and “has a bad temper,” and told the ju umpire that he was sometimes angry, drinking alcohol and assaulting him by saying “he had done the wrong drug.” But she said, “domestic violence is not sex trafficking.”
Ju-dean may also watch a recording of Freak off. The indictment said the event continued occasionally for several days, and participants requested IV drip to recover.
The Associated Press generally does not identify people who say they are victims of sexual abuse unless they move forward publicly, as Cathy did.
The exam is expected to last at least eight weeks.
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Associated Press Writer Dave Collins from Hartford, Connecticut contributed to the report.
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