Sean Combs, lengthy identified by rap aliases like Diddy and Puffy, is going through an avalanche of lawsuits and authorized hassle. The newest in his ongoing points contains 5 lawsuits filed on Tuesday by three males and two girls, who allege comparable allegations of being drugged and assaulted. One of many girls was 17 years previous on the time of the incident.
Additionally on Tuesday, Combs had a minor victory in court docket after a choose ordered prosecutors to destroy their copies of handwritten notes acquired throughout a jail search on Oct. 28 that they meant to make use of in his upcoming trial. The choose is presently weighing whether or not or not they fall beneath attorney-client privilege and is reviewing a duplicate of the notes to discern if prosecutors can in actual fact use them.
Under is an outline of the accusations which were leveled towards Combs, in addition to the solutions to steadily requested questions on his instances.
Why is Combs in jail?
Combs is presently incarcerated on the Metropolitan Detention Middle in Brooklyn, New York. He was arrested on Sept. 16, 2024 in Manhattan by Homeland Safety on fees of racketeering and intercourse trafficking. He pleaded not responsible to a grand jury indictment. He was denied bail by two separate judges, and is ready to stay behind bars till his Could 5, 2025 trial. Combs might face life in jail if discovered responsible of the racketeering cost.
Proof of the costs was sought on March 25, when the Division of Homeland Safety raided the rapper’s properties in Miami, New York and Los Angeles. Electronics together with computer systems have been seized attributable to containing potential proof.
What are “freak-offs?”
The federal legal indictment describes Diddy’s wild intercourse events crammed with criminal activity, often known as “freak-offs,” in nice element. They might steadily contain group intercourse, exhibitionism, intercourse staff, copious quantities of medicine and child oil, and might be filmed and final for days.
How did Cassie Ventura’s allegations begin a wave of investigation into Combs’ habits?
Combs’ high-profile ex-girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura, filed a prolonged lawsuit towards Combs on Nov. 16, 2023, accusing him of bodily abuse, rape and intercourse trafficking. This included Ventura’s accusation that she participated in quite a few “freak-offs,” the place, as detailed in her lawsuit, Combs “handled the pressured encounter as a private artwork undertaking, adjusting the candles he used for lighting to border the movies he took.”
The lawsuit was settled privately the subsequent day with undisclosed phrases. On Could 17, 2024, CNN launched resort surveillance footage of Combs beating Ventura in Los Angeles in 2016, which led to Combs issuing a public apology — the only time he acknowledged wrongdoing since this saga started.
What lawsuits and allegations got here after Cassie filed?
Ventura’s headline-making lawsuit motion was only the start of a wave of authorized motion towards Combs from ladies and men he allegedly assaulted. His lawyer, Erica Wolff, issued an announcement on Oct. 1 denying his culpability within the upcoming wave of fits. “Mr. Combs emphatically and categorically denies as false and defamatory any declare that he sexually abused anybody, together with minors,” mentioned Wolff. “He seems to be ahead to proving his innocence and vindicating himself in court docket, the place the reality might be established based mostly on proof, not hypothesis.”
Nov. 23, 2023: Joi Dickerson-Neal accused Combs of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 1991. In a separate lawsuit filed that day, Liza Gardner sued Combs and R&B singer Aaron Corridor for sexually assaulting her and a good friend in 1990.
Dec. 6, 2023: A Jane Doe claimed that Combs, then-Unhealthy Boy Information’ president Harve Pierre and one other man raped her in New York Metropolis whereas she was a youngster.
Feb. 26, 2024: Producer Rodney Jones alleges Combs sexually assaulted him whereas he was an worker from Sept. 2022 to Nov. 2023.
Apr. 4, 2024: Combs is called as a co-defendant in a swimsuit that claims his son Christian “King” Combs sexually assaulted a lady on a yacht. The swimsuit, filed in Los Angeles, alleges that Combs paid to cowl up the assault.
Could 21, 2024: Crystal McKinney, a mannequin, accused Combs of sexual assault in 2003.
Could 24, 2024: April Lampros sued Combs for sexual assault and battery for a sequence of incidents from 1994 into the 2000s.
June 10, 2024: Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith filed a lawsuit saying he was sexually assaulted by Combs at a 1997 occasion.
Sept. 10, 2024: “Making the Band” star Daybreak Richard sued Combs, alleging sexual battery, intercourse trafficking, sexual assault and extra.
Sept. 24, 2024: Thalia Graves sued Combs, saying he drugged and raped her in 2001.
September 27, 2024: Jane Doe, a Florida mannequin, sued Combs, alleging she was drugged and sexually assaulted.
October 14, 2024: Six lawsuits, two from girls and 4 from males, have been filed towards Combs in Manhattan. One man claimed that Combs assaulted him when he was 16 years previous in 1998.
October 20, 2024: Combs was hit with an extra six lawsuits, with one claiming that he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old woman in 2000.
October 28, 2024: A John Doe filed a lawsuit towards Combs alleging that the mogul drugged and raped him when he was 10 years previous. One other filed an analogous swimsuit claiming that he was sexually assaulted when he was 17 years previous whereas auditioning for “Making the Band” in 2008.
November 19, 2024: 5 extra fits have been filed towards Combs by three males and two girls who make comparable allegations of being drugged and assaulted. One of many girls was 17 on the time described within the incident.
What additional lawsuits is Combs anticipated to face?
On Oct. 1, lawyer Tony Buzbee mentioned 120 extra lawsuits are anticipated from alleged victims he’s working with, which embody assaults that befell within the 2000s and 2010s.
In an announcement shared with Selection, Combs’ attorneys mentioned, “The press convention and 1-800 quantity that preceded at the moment’s barrage of filings have been clear makes an attempt to garner publicity. Mr. Combs and his authorized workforce have full confidence within the information, their authorized defenses, and the integrity of the judicial course of. In court docket, the reality will prevail: that Mr. Combs has by no means sexually assaulted anybody—grownup or minor, man or girl.”
The first batch of six lawsuits, filed on Oct. 14, lays out allegations from a number of women and men, together with a then-16-year-old boy.
What lawsuits has Combs confronted previously?
Previous to Ventura’s allegations, Combs was sued by Cindy Rueda in 2017 for sexual harassment and retaliation. The lawsuit was settled in February 2019.
