NEW YORK, UNITED STATES — In opening statements at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ trial, prosecutors alleged that the hip-hop mogul leveraged his fame and engaged in violence to sexually abuse women, while the rapper’s legal team characterized his lifestyle as that of a “swinger.”
The 55-year-old defendant has entered a plea of not guilty to charges that include racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation for prostitution.
The court also heard testimony from the prosecution’s initial witnesses, including a security guard from the hotel where Mr. Combs is depicted in a widely circulated 2016 video assaulting his former girlfriend.
His testimony was followed by a man who claimed Mr. Combs abused his ex-girlfriend during paid sexual encounters involving the couple. Following the selection of a jury panel consisting of 12 members and six alternates on Monday morning, both the prosecution and Mr. Combs’ attorneys presented their respective cases.
Prosecutor Emily Johnson accused Mr. Combs of exploiting his celebrity status and a “loyal” inner circle of employees to sexually abuse women and operate a criminal enterprise. Her focus centered on the two primary alleged victims in the case: Mr. Combs’ former girlfriend, Cassandra Ventura, and another unnamed former girlfriend.
Prosecutors informed the court that Mr. Combs employed violence and threats to Ms. Ventura’s music career to coerce her into performing non-consensual, humiliating sexual acts with male prostitutes during so-called “freak-offs” that Mr. Combs filmed.
The defendant “had the power to ruin her [Ms Ventura’s] life”, Ms. Johnson stated.
As the prosecution outlined the allegations against Mr. Combs, he sat with a composed expression, wearing a grey sweater and trousers, his hands folded in his lap. Central to the government’s case is surveillance footage from 2016 showing Mr. Combs physically assaulting Ms. Ventura and dragging her by her hair in a Los Angeles hotel hallway.
Lawyers for Mr. Combs acknowledged that the video evidenced Mr. Combs’ “flawed” character but argued against it indicating a broader criminal enterprise. “Domestic violence is not sex trafficking,” asserted Teny Geragos, Mr. Combs’ attorney.
Ms. Geragos suggested that Mr. Combs has a “bit of a different sex life” and shifted focus to the women accusing him, describing them as “capable, strong women” who chose to remain with the rapper.
They had “the freedom to make the choices that they made”, Ms. Geragos contended.
The prosecution’s first witness, Israel Florez, a former security guard at the hotel where the assault video was filmed, testified that on the morning of March 5, 2016, he received a call regarding a “woman in distress” on the sixth floor of the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles.
He recounted finding Mr. Combs there in a towel, slumped on a chair with a “devilish” look, and a broken vase on the floor. Ms. Ventura was cowering in the corner with her face covered, Mr. Florez said.
Mr. Florez told prosecutors that Ms. Ventura repeatedly stated her desire to leave, but Mr. Combs forbade her from doing so.
He testified that Ms. Ventura had a purple eye but declined to call the police and eventually left in a black SUV.
Mr. Florez alleged that Mr. Combs later attempted to give him a wad of cash to “make it go away,” but he refused.
Attorneys for Mr. Combs questioned the inconsistencies in Mr. Florez’s testimony, asking why certain details, such as Ms. Ventura’s bruised eye, were not included in his initial incident report.
His testimony was followed by Daniel Phillip, a former manager of male strippers, who testified that he met Mr. Combs and Ms. Ventura after his employer asked him to fill in as a stripper for a bachelorette party.
However, Mr. Phillip stated that he was greeted at a hotel by Ms. Ventura, who informed him it was her birthday and that her husband wished to give her a gift.
Mr. Phillip told the court that he subsequently had sexual encounters with Ms. Ventura on multiple occasions, some lasting up to ten hours and sometimes involving drug use, while Mr. Combs watched and filmed.
He alleged witnessing Mr. Combs physically assault Ms. Ventura at least twice, including one instance where he dragged her by her hair as she screamed “I’m sorry.”
Mr. Combs then returned to the room with Ms. Ventura and asked the two to engage in sexual activity again in his presence, Mr. Phillip testified.
“I was shocked,” he said. “It came out of nowhere. I was terrified.”
Mr. Phillip claimed on the stand that he did not contact the police due to fear that Mr. Combs was “someone with unlimited power” and that he could “lose his life” for reporting it.
The trial is scheduled to continue on Tuesday, with Ms. Ventura expected to testify.
At the crowded courthouse on Monday, Mr. Combs’ children, including his daughters, were seen holding hands. His mother was also photographed leaving the court alongside his publicist.
