How Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Charges Relate to R. Kelly’s Sexual Abuse Cases

CNN
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Some of the similarities in the cases filed this week against Sean “Diddy” Combs and Robert Sylvester Kelly from several years ago are immediately apparent: Both are world-famous, powerful and influential musicians who have been accused of sex crimes by federal prosecutors in New York City.

But Combs’ case is similar to R. Kelly’s in another way: In both cases, prosecutors invoked a novel use of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) to charge them with allegations that they abused that power and fame to use the resources, companies and people answerable to them to commit crimes — and to try to cover up those crimes.

“There are certainly parallels in these cases,” said Nadia Shihata, the former federal prosecutor who tried Kelly’s 2021 case in the Eastern District of New York, one of two that sealed the R&B singer’s downfall.

“Certainly the behavior is somewhat different in each case. But there is this idea of ​​a superstar using the employees and entourage that he has at his disposal to facilitate really serious sexual assaults,” she told CNN, “and to use coercion and control of victims to force them to engage in sexual activities that they otherwise would not have engaged in.”

Kelly is currently serving 30 years for the New York case following his conviction for racketeering and sex trafficking, and 20 years for another case in the Eastern District of Illinois, where he was convicted of child pornography and enticing a minor. Kelly has since appealed both convictions and in July petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn his Illinois conviction, arguing that the charges should have been statute-barred.

Combs, meanwhile, was indicted in the Southern District of New York on three counts: conspiracy to commit racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty and faces up to life in prison if convicted.

A key difference between the two is that Kelly’s cases involved victims who were minors, while Combs has not been accused of wrongdoing against minors. Experts say it’s possible that this could develop into a defense strategy, with Combs’ attorneys arguing that his alleged victims were willing participants.

In any case, the charges against Combs are “very, very serious charges,” according to civil rights attorney and CNN legal analyst Areva Martin, and bear an “uncanny resemblance” to those against Kelly in New York — “another music icon who is now serving a 30-year prison sentence on very similar charges brought against him in New York and ultimately convicted at trial.”

The RICO Act, which dates back to 1970, was created to prosecute organized crime affecting interstate commerce. Every racketeering case centers on a so-called “enterprise,” or the group that carries out the alleged wrongdoing — think Mafia.

But the use of RICO to prosecute Kelly was “a groundbreaking use of RICO against a single individual,” and the Combs case “follows the same legal architecture,” according to CNN Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller. He described the strategy as a “creative adaptation to target individuals whose own empires of wealth and businesses had been used to enable them to get away with an ongoing pattern of serious crimes.”

“The R. Kelly case, the (Homeland Security Investigations) investigation, the RICO prosecution was an unusual federal prosecution, an unusual structure,” Miller said. “And it really became a model, not only for the P. Diddy investigation, but probably for the Southern District and how they put this together.”

When the Eastern District of New York charged Kelly under the RICO Act — the Illinois indictment did not rely on the law — he was placed at the head of a corporation that included the singer and his entourage, including his managers, bodyguards, drivers and personal assistants.

The purpose of the enterprise, the EDNY complaint states, was not only to promote Kelly and his music, but also to “recruit women and girls to engage in illegal sexual activities with Kelly.”

Specifically, EDNY prosecutors said Kelly would select girls and women from the crowd at his concert and then direct others within the company to bring them backstage. The company would then arrange for the girls and women to visit Kelly, which is when the sex crimes, including the production of child pornography, would take place.

Now, across the East River, prosecutors in the SDNY allege that Combs was the leader of his own enterprise, which included several businesses and employees, including security guards, housekeepers and personal assistants. Some of the goals were legitimate: promoting Combs as a musician and running his sprawling business empire, which, according to the indictment, included record labels, a studio, a clothing line, a marketing agency and an alcoholic beverage company.

But the enterprise also engaged in a variety of crimes, including sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice, the indictment alleges. And for a decade, Combs “abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct.”

Combs’ enterprise “enabled” this behavior, the indictment alleges, by bribing victims, manipulating their career opportunities or obtaining drugs to keep them in compliance. Members of the enterprise also witnessed Combs committing violent acts against the victims, the indictment alleges. Rather than intervening, they tried to cover it up.

One advantage of a RICO conspiracy is that it allows the SDNY to broaden the scope of its prosecutions, said Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and president of West Coast Trial Lawyers.

He pointed to the videotaped assault of Combs’ former girlfriend, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, in 2016, which fell outside the statute of limitations for prosecution when CNN released footage of the assault in May — and for which Combs apologized. It was unclear whether Ventura had reported any of the abuse allegations to police, and a federal lawsuit was later settled.

The SDNY’s complaint describes an incident that appears to fit the attack, and uses it as evidence to support the racketeering conspiracy charge.

“You can bring in a lot of conduct as relevant conduct, or take actions that are not federal as a starting point,” Rahmani said, adding: “It brings in a lot of evidence, it brings in a lot of crimes — and frankly, it brings in a lot of people.”

It remains to be seen whether additional people will be charged in connection with the allegations in the Combs case.

While Kelly’s victims were underage girls, prosecutors in the SDNY have not charged Combs with victimizing minors — a significant difference in their cases.

The indictment against Combs lists a number of alleged victims, including women and sex workers, but does not say how many. Combs’ attorney has argued that the case focuses on just one victim — the sex trafficking charge is based on allegations involving one, unnamed victim — while federal prosecutors have insisted there are multiple victims.

That distinction, the issue of consent, could become a key element of Combs’ defense, Rahmani said, describing it as “the only defense on the merits.”

“He’s not going to say it didn’t happen, or that it was someone else,” Rahmani said. “Of course, consenting sex between adults is legal, as long as there’s no violence, fraud, or coercion — that’s what makes it human trafficking — or any other commercial element — that’s what makes it prostitution.”

“The only chance he has of winning this case is if witnesses testify and the jurors believe the case was handled consensually.”

Miller agreed: Kelly’s underage victims could not have given consent, he noted, “whereas the core of the Combs’ defense will be that these were wild parties with willing participants involved in sex, drugs and hip-hop, and everyone was having a good time until they weren’t.”

CNN’s Eric Levenson contributed to this report.