Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Accused of Sex Trafficking, Pleads Not Guilty

Sean “Diddy” Combs used his fame as one of the biggest names in hip-hop to coerce women into degrading sex acts as part of a long-running sex trafficking and extortion scheme, prosecutors said Tuesday after filing three criminal charges against him.

Prosecutors say Combs, 54, used his business empire, including his record label Bad Boy Entertainment, to transport women and male sex workers across state lines to participate in recorded sex performances called “Freak Offs,” during which the music mogul watched and masturbated.

Wearing a black T-shirt and gray sweatpants, Combs pleaded not guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky in Manhattan to charges made public Tuesday. The judge ruled after a hearing that Combs, who was arrested Monday, will remain in custody pending trial, as prosecutors had requested.

The rapper and producer faces a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 15 years and a maximum of life in prison if found guilty on all three charges, opens new tab: racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.

Combs was led into the courtroom by members of the U.S. Marshals Service. Sitting at the defense table, Combs spoke briefly with attorney Marc Agnifilo and nodded. Combs looked to his right, where the Midtown Manhattan skyline was visible through an open window in the 26th-floor courtroom, then sighed and looked down.

During the discussion about whether to continue his detention, Agnifilo told the judge that the sexual acts described by prosecutors were consensual.

“Does everyone have experience with intimacy in this way? No. Is it sex trafficking? No. Not if everyone wants it to be,” Agnifilo said.

Combs, who was also known as P. Diddy and Puff Daddy during his career, founded Bad Boy Records and is credited with helping transform rappers and R&B singers such as Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, Notorious B.I.G. and Usher into stars in the ’90s and 2000s.

Prosecutors accused Combs of running a criminal enterprise to facilitate his exploitation of women, a venture that dates back at least 16 years and was brought by the office of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.

According to the indictment, Combs lured women by giving them drugs such as ketamine and ecstasy, financial support or promises of career advancement or romantic relationships. Combs then used surreptitious recordings of the sex acts as “collateral” to keep the women silent, and sometimes displayed weapons to intimidate abuse victims and witnesses, prosecutors said.

Defense attorneys had sought to have Combs released on $50 million bond, secured by his Miami home. Agnifilo acknowledged that Combs has a history of drug use and toxic relationships, and said he was receiving treatment and therapy for “things that he needs treatment and therapy for,” without going into details.

Sean “Diddy” Combs stands before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky after prosecutors filed three criminal charges against him in a federal court in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, U.S., June 26, 2024, in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg

(1/10)Sean “Diddy” Combs stands before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky after prosecutors filed three criminal charges against him in a federal court in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, U.S., June 26, 2024, in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg Buy license rights, opens new tab

“Defendant Sean Combs has physically and sexually abused victims for decades,” prosecutor Emily Johnson, who argued for continued incarceration, told the judge. “He is extremely dangerous to the community.”

The next hearing in the case was scheduled for September 24.

SEDUCING VICTIMS

Williams told a news conference that his office is “committed to investigating and prosecuting anyone who engages in sex trafficking, no matter how powerful, wealthy or famous you are.”

The indictment did not specify how many women were alleged victims. It was not alleged that Combs himself had direct unwanted sexual contact with women, although he was accused of assaulting them by hitting, kicking, dragging and throwing objects.

Combs is the highest-profile music industry figure to be charged with sexual misconduct since R&B singer R. Kelly was sentenced to a total of 31 years in prison, opens new tab after being convicted in New York in 2021 and Chicago in 2022 of sex trafficking, racketeering, child sex trafficking and other charges.

Combs’ career and reputation have been in tatters over the past year. Last November, his ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura, an R&B singer known as Cassie, accused him in a lawsuit of serial physical abuse, sexual slavery and rape. She agreed to an undisclosed settlement a day after filing the lawsuit. Combs has denied the allegations.

Prosecutors say Combs and his associates used bribery and violence, including arson and kidnapping, to keep his behavior secret.

In a March 2016 incident that appears to match Cassie’s description of his alleged attack, prosecutors said Combs was captured on hotel security camera punching and dragging a woman who was trying to leave a “Freak Off.” Prosecutors said Combs then offered a wad of cash to a hotel security guard, who intervened.

In 2011, Combs and an accomplice kidnapped a man at gunpoint to facilitate a burglary, prosecutors said. Two weeks later, Combs’ accomplices set a car on fire, and he later bragged about his role in the arson, prosecutors said.

According to the indictment, prosecutors said Combs’ employees helped organize the “Freak Offs” by booking hotel rooms and purchasing narcotics and other items used during sex.

During raids on his homes in Los Angeles and Miami Beach, Florida, six months ago, authorities found drugs and 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, along with AR-15 rifles with defaced serial numbers, the indictment said.

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