Prosecutors in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal trial presented their last pieces of evidence on Tuesday, as they expect to rest their case.
The defense plans to present evidence without calling any witnesses, aiming to conclude the case and have the jury deliberate as early as Friday. During the trial, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Joseph Cerciello was cross-examined by the defense. Texts were shown where Sean Combs (also known as Diddy) and an individual named “Jane” discussed concealing their sexual relationship from Combs’ employees, as reported by ABC.
“You find place. I can’t have KK know,” Combs wrote in an April 2023 message, referring to his chief-of-staff Kristina Khorram.
Several women have testified against Combs, accusing him of physical and sexual abuse. One of the witnesses, Cassie Ventura, who was in a relationship with Combs from 2007 to 2018, stated that Combs hindered her music career and coerced her into participating in what she described as “freak offs.” These activities often involved her engaging in sexual acts with other men in Combs’ presence. Ventura recounted how the drug-fueled encounters left her exhausted and dehydrated as they extended over multiple days.
Another witness, using the pseudonym “Mia,” was employed as Combs’ assistant for eight years. She alleged that Combs forced her to perform oral sex, engaged in non-consensual penetration while she was asleep, and subjected her to physical violence by throwing objects at her and slamming her against a wall.
A third woman, who used the pseudonym “Jane,” dated Combs from 2021 to 2024. She testified about “hotel nights,” which allegedly were sexual rendezvous arranged by Combs. Combs reportedly watched these encounters, which Jane said she had to be under the influence of drugs to participate.
Combs was arrested on September 16, 2024, outside a Manhattan hotel on federal charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs has been denied bail three times, as Judge Andrew L. Carter determined there was a “serious risk” of witness tampering in this case.
Federal authorities raided Combs’ homes in Holmby Hills, California, and Miami in March 2024. Reports indicated that the raids were connected to an ongoing sex trafficking investigation that resulted in his arrest months later.
The raids also occurred four months after Ventura accused him of sex trafficking and abuse. In a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, she alleged that Combs drugged her and forced her to have sex with other men. The pair settled the lawsuit a day after its filing.
However, in May 2024, CNN publicized hotel surveillance footage allegedly showing Combs assaulting Ventura. Two days later, Combs released a video expressing remorse for his behavior.
“I went and I sought out professional help. I got into going to therapy, going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I’m so sorry. But I’m committed to be a better man each and every day. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m truly sorry,” he said.
Two more accusers came forward a week after Ventura’s lawsuit. One of the women claimed Combs drugged and raped her at Syracuse University in New York in 1991. Combs denied those allegations before a third accuser, Liza Gardner, levied similar allegations against him.
Days after footage of the Ventura assault was publicized, two more women filed lawsuits against Combs. One of those women was April Lampros, a New York Fashion Institute of Technology student who reportedly met Combs in 1994. Lampros accused Combs of sexually assaulting her on four occasions between the mid-1990s and the early 2000s.
Combs has been accused of committing or facilitating sexual abuse in at least 30 other lawsuits — including one, filed in October, which alleges he and Jay-Z raped a 13-year-old girl in New York in 2000. The accuser in that case had her lawsuit dismissed in February.
Combs turned down a plea deal days before jury selection began.
[Feature Photo: Mark Von Holden/Invision/AP, File]
