This Monday (5) the jury of the criminal trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs .
Combs declared innocent of the accusations of conspiracy for extortion , Prostitution transportation and sexual traffic . If convicted at all charges, he may face life imprisonment.
The controversial music tycoon is in custody at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) since his arrest in September 2024.
Learn how to follow the trial.
DATE OF JUDGMENT OF JUDGMENT
The selection of the jury for the trial will begin on May 5, with the initial statements scheduled for May 12. The trial should last several weeks.
What are the accusations?
In September 2024, Combs was arrested in New York after being indicted for an accusation of conspiracy for extortion, an accusation of sexual trafficking and a shipping accusation for prostitution.
He declared himself innocent of these accusations. In April, prosecutors submitted another substitute complaint that added an additional accusation of sex trafficking and an additional prostitution shipping accusation.
He again declared himself innocent of these accusations.
Prosecutors claim that Combs coerced at least three women to perform sexual acts with him and sometimes with male prostitutes, during occasions known as “freak offs,” where women were supposed to have forced to have sex for days.
Authorities also claim that Combs recorded some of the sexual acts and controlled their victims promising financial and career opportunities, as well as through threats of violence and other damage.
In addition to his criminal case, Combs is the target of dozens of civil proceedings of alleged victims, including those who were minors at the time of the allegations, claiming to have been drugs and sexually assaulted by the controversial music typist.
Civil proceedings are not part of the Federal Criminal Judgment of Combs and will not be considered during it. The Combs Federal Criminal Judgment Judge decided during an April hearing that most of the evidence on previous allegations of sexual assault against Combs that are not included in the complaint would not be allowed in the trial.
Judgment will not be broadcast on TV
Comb trial will not be televised, according to the rules of the Federal Court. Any images from within the court will probably come from a forensic artist. THE CNN You will have reports from journalists inside and outside the court, on linear and digital platforms, as the trial unfolds.
Who is the judge
The judge Arun Subramanian will be responsible for the case of Combs.
Subramanian took office in 2023 after being appointed by President Joe Biden in 2022. He spent most of his career at law firm Susman Godfrey as a civilian litigant after working as a legal assistant to the judge of Supreme Court Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky was the first judge before which Combs attended after his arrest. The case of Combs was then randomly designated to district judge Andrew Carter, who later refused before the case was transferred to Subramanian.
Carter and Tarnofsky previously denied Comb lawyers’ requests to be released under bail after his arrest. He was denied for the third time in November, with Subramanian deciding that there were no conditions to alleviate the concerns that Combs could get involved in manipulating witnesses.
Who are the lawyers
MARC AGNIFILO and Teny Geragos These are the two main lawyers representing Combs. Brian Steel, who represented rapper Young Thug in his recent judgment for extortion in Georgia, was added to the Comb legal team in April.
Agnifilo also previously represented “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli, Nxivm founder Keith Raniere and former Goldman Sachs Roger NG. He worked for the Brafman & Associate law firm from 2006 until 2024, when he separated to co-firm the intrater agnifile firm.
Geragos is a founding partner of Agnifilo Intrater and the daughter of Marc Geragos, a powerful criminal defense lawyer whose clients included brothers Menendez and Michael Jackson.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York indicated Combs in 2024, with US Assistant Prosecutors Meredith Foster, Emily A. Johnson, Christy Slavik, Madison Reddick Smyser and Mitzi Steiner conducting the case by the government, according to a US Attorney’s press report.
Who are the witnesses
The government has identified four victims in court proceedings that must witness in the trial.
During a preliminary hearing on April 18, the Subramanian judge determined that three of the four alleged victims mentioned in the complaint may witness under pseudonyms. The person referred to as “victim 1” in the complaint, Cassie Ventura ex-girlfriend of Combs, chose to witness using his own name. The “victim 3” also chose to witness using its own name, according to a court document.
Ventura filed a lawsuit against Combs in 2023, in which he claimed that he raped her in 2018 and submitted her to years of repeated physical abuse and other types of abuse throughout her relationship. Combs denied Ventura’s allegations at the time and they resolved the Ventura process the day after their presentation.
In May 2024, Combs was seen assaulting and dragging Ventura in a 2016 surveillance video, first published by CNN . Two days after the publication of the video, Combs apologized for physically assaulting Ventura. “My behavior in that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video,” he said in a video statement published on Instagram.
During a preliminary hearing in April, Subramanian determined that the images will be shown to the jury at the trial after several attempts by the lawyers of Combs to exclude them.
*Kara Scannell, Elizabeth Wagmeister, Sandra Gonzalez, Nicki Brown, Eric Levenson and CNN’s Lauren del Valle contributed to this report.
Understand the case involving rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
This content was originally published in know how will be Sean ‘Diddy’ trial for sex trafficking on CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m Robert Neff, a professional writer and editor. I specialize in the entertainment section, providing up-to-date coverage on the latest developments in film, television and music. My work has been featured on World Stock Market and other prominent publications.
