Sean “Diddy” Combs has been sent to jail to await trial in his federal sex trafficking case after a judge ordered him to be held without bail until his sex trafficking trial.
The music mogul pleaded not guilty on Tuesday, September 17, to racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. He’s accused of inducing female victims and male sex workers into drugged-up, sometimes dayslong sexual performances dubbed “Freak Offs.” The indictment against him also refers obliquely to an attack on his former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, that was captured on video.
On Tuesday, September 17, a federal judge in New York ruled to hold the music mogul behind bars at his arraignment, rejecting a bail proposal made by Combs’ attorneys.
Combs was charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution, in a federal indictment unsealed.
At the arraignment, prosecutors alleged that Combs had drugs in the hotel room in which he was arrested on Monday, September 16.
Combs appeared at his arraignment Tuesday wearing a black long-sleeve shirt and grey sweatpants. The rapper and producer stood and entered a plea of not guilty in court.
Combs’ attorneys had proposed a $50 million bail package that would’ve included a $50,000 bond for the Bad Boy Records founder. But U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky sided with the government as prosecutors wanted him jailed.
Combs, one of the most powerful individuals in the music industry, is accused of forcing women to engage in long, orchestrated sex performances known as “freak offs,” some of which lasted several days.
“Not guilty,” Combs told a court, standing to speak after listening to the allegations with his uncuffed hands folded in his lap.
The rapper, 54, was led out of court without being handcuffed.
“Mr. Combs physically and sexually abused victims for decades. He used the vast resources of his company to facilitate his abuse and cover up his crimes. Simply put, he is a serial abuser and a serial obstructor,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson told a court.
She also said he had an “extensive and exhaustive history of obstruction of justice,” including alleged bribery and witness intimidation.
His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, acknowledged Combs was “not a perfect person.”
“There has been drug use. He has been in toxic relationships,” Agnifilo told the court. The lawyer said Combs was receiving “treatment and therapy for things that he needs treatment and therapy for.”
Agnifilo had said outside court earlier that Combs is innocent, and he argued in court that “the evidence in this case is extremely problematic.”
He maintained that the case stemmed from one long-term, consensual relationship that faltered amid infidelity. He didn’t name the woman, but the details matched those of Combs’ decade-long involvement with Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura.
The “Freak Offs,” Agnifilo contended, were an expansion of that relationship, and not coercive.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.