Sean Combs pleads “not guilty” to accusations of sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to facilitate prostitution.
Update: Sean Combs is sticking to his guns this afternoon after entering a “not guilty” plea to charges of sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to facilitate prostitution. If found guilty, Combs could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Combs’ lawyers urged the court to release their client on a $50 million bond, restrict travel privileges, and use a “home detention with GPS monitoring” inside New York state. In contrast, the U.S. Attorney’s office wants Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky to order the music industry mogul to remain in custody because he is a flight risk. “Simply put, he is a serial abuser and a serial obstructor,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson.
Original Article: Things are going from bad to worse for Sean’ Diddy’ Combs after an unsealed three-count indictment reveals the rapper and record producer could get 20 years in jail if found guilty of multiple charges. Federal authorities arrested Combs on Monday evening at a New York City hotel after Combs was formally charged with racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
“For decades, SEAN COMBS, a/k/a “Puff Daddy,” a/k/a “P. Diddy,” a/k/a “Diddy,” a/k/a “PD,” a/k/a “Love,” the defendant, abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct,” reads the unsealed indictment.
“To do so, COMBS relied on the employees, resources, and influence of the multi-faceted business empire that he led and controlled–creating a criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in, and attempted to engage in, among other crimes, sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice,” the filing from the U.S. Attorney Damian Williams’ office adds.
The latest indictment against Combs comes after a video containing hotel surveillance footage of the mogul beating his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in 2016 went viral on social media. The latest indictment alleges Combs used drugs, violence, and career-advancing tactics to manipulate his victims, entourage, and others in his influential orbit. The new charges also suggest Combs used scare tactics to blackmail his victims into keeping hush about his unlawful actions.
Combs’ lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, says his client will likely enter a not-guilty plea and “fight this with all of his energy and all of his might.” Authorities plan to keep Combs in custody during the pre-trial process, and he is currently undergoing arraignment in a Manhattan courthouse. In addition to facing decades of jail time, the government plans to confiscate “any and all property, real and personal,” and an unspecified “sum of money” related to Combs’ alleged crimes.
Filings against Combs continue to pile up beyond the latest indictment, including a case brought by Dawn Richards, a singer from the ABC/MTV series Making the Band. Danity Kane cites abuse and assault on Combs’ behalf, saying he sexually assaulted her, starved her, deprived her of sleep, and failed to pay her fairly for years. Many of the cases brought against Combs cite his lording of power over his victims, threatening to sink their careers if they fail to meet his demands.
More details about Combs’ involvement with his alleged victims are sure to come as courts process complaints made against the once untouchable industry giant.
