A federal judge has ruled that a woman accusing Sean “Diddy” Combs and Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter of raping her when she was 13 after an awards show in 2000 can maintain her anonymity during the proceedings of her lawsuit.
The lawsuit was initially filed in October by Texas attorney Tony Buzbee, along with several other anonymous civil complaints against Combs. In December, the suit was updated to include Carter, who has refuted the accusations.
Recently, Carter sought the judge’s intervention to reject the plaintiff’s plea for anonymity, insisting on either disclosing her identity or dismissing the lawsuit altogether.
However, in a ruling Thursday, U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres said the woman can remain anonymous for now — although she may revisit her ruling in the future.
The judge said allegations of sexual assault are highly sensitive and of an extremely personal nature and that the woman who filed the lawsuit is “particularly vulnerable to the possible harms of disclosure,” because, according to her lawsuit, she suffers depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and a seizure disorder associated with the stress of her sexual assault.
In her ruling, the judge acknowledged the plaintiff’s continued anonymity “may cause prejudice to Defendants, making it more difficult for them to collect the facts necessary to mount a defense” and challenge the plaintiff’s credibility.
But, citing the “exceedingly early stage in this case,” the judge ruled the woman can remain anonymous for now.
“Plaintiff is advised that, because the balance of these factors will certainly shift as this case proceeds, especially if and when the parties engage in discovery in earnest, the Court intends to revisit this decision at a future date,” the judge wrote in her ruling.
The plaintiff, who claims in her lawsuit Jay-Z and Sean Combs assaulted her at the after-party of the MTV Video Music Awards in 2000, has acknowledged inconsistencies with her account. However, she has stood by her allegations.
Carter and his lawyer have strongly denied the claims in both public statements and in court filings, accusing Buzbee, the woman’s lawyer, of conducting an “extortionate campaign” against him.
The judge admonished Carter’s lawyer for some of his legal maneuvering.
“Carter’s lawyer’s relentless filing of combative motions containing inflammatory language and ad hominem attacks is inappropriate, a waste of judicial resources, and a tactic unlikely to benefit his client. The Court will not fast-track the judicial process merely because counsel demands it.”
Combs, who was arrested in September on sex-trafficking charges, remains in custody in the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Last month, a judge denied him bail in the case.
Combs has denied all wrongdoing.
ABC News’ Matt Foster contributed to this report.
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