Hip-hop producer Sean “Diddy” Combs once proudly hosted his white parties in the Hamptons, attracting A-list celebrities, society columnists and photographers.
However, at a trial that begins Monday, prosecutors will charge the artist as a depraved sex offender who used his fame to harass women at meetings held away from the public eye.
Prosecutors allege that for more than two decades, the Bad Boy Records founder used his power and reputation, earned while building a hip-hop empire, to destroy young lives.
He faces charges that include “freaks” – drug-fueled orgies in which women were forced to have sex with men working in the sex industry, and Combs filmed the proceedings.
Prosecutors said multiple witnesses accused Combs of intimidating people into silence, choking, beating, kicking and pulling them, often by the hair.
In one case, the indictment says, he even hung someone from a balcony.
Combs' lawyers say prosecutors are trying to police consensual sexual activity.
Although Combs, 55, has admitted to one count of violence – the videotaped beating of his ex-girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie – his defense team says the rest of the allegations are false.
Jury selection is set to begin Monday in federal court in Manhattan, with testimony likely to begin next week.
If convicted on all charges, including conspiracy to commit racketeering, sex trafficking and interstate transportation of people for prostitution, Combs faces years in prison.
While dozens of men and women have alleged in their lawsuits that Combs abused them, this trial will focus particularly on the testimony of four women.
One of them is Cassie, who filed a lawsuit in late 2023 alleging that Combs subjected her to years of abuse, including beatings and rape, after they met in 2005.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
