One of America's most influential music moguls, Sean Combs was charged by federal prosecutors on Monday with leading a criminal enterprise that pushed to enable and cover up women's abuse.
When his trial began in U.S. District Court downstream of Manhattan, prosecutors portrayed him as a serial sexual predator who coordinated a drug-fueled sex marathon with prostitutes. Combs' attorneys confirmed he was the head of domestic violence but denied that he committed sex trafficking or running an assault company.
In Lurid's details, prosecutor Emily A. Johnson, who issued a 50-minute opening statement to the government, portrayed Combs as a man who ordered a sexual performance and “called himself the king.”
“In general, he was Puff Daddy or Diddy,” Johnson said. “Cultural icon, businessman – bigger than life. But he had another side, the side that ran a criminal enterprise.”
One of the government's first witnesses was the man who said he had been paid $6,000 to engage in a long sexual encounter with Combs' girlfriend, Cassandra Ventura, while the music mogul watched. He also said he overheard what he believed was Mr. Combs, who was hitting Ventura in the adjacent room.
Combs, 55, one of the most successful producers and entrepreneurs in hip-hop history, faces federal crime charges, best known for prosecuting sex trafficking, transport engaged in prostitution and organized crime syndicates.
If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Combs pleaded not guilty to the charges. “The evidence would indicate you a highly flawed individual,” Combs' attorney Tenny Jelagos said in her opening statement. “But it doesn't show you a nuisance, a sex trafficker, or someone transporting you for prostitution.”
Combs' trial is closely monitored by his large fans and celebrities and stars who once became his trajectory, attended his lavish parties, and listened to the hit music he produced.
The charges against Combs came to the popular lexicon “Freakoff.” Combs explained that he organized drug-fuel sex idiots could last for days. At the heart of the incident is the government's claim that Combs, who acts like a royal family, sends out a crew of employees to trigger action and resolve the issues that have caused them.
In a packed courtroom on the 26th floor of New York's Southern District, the mogul's mother, Janice Combs, sat in the second row of the gallery, surrounded by her family, dressed in black and looped prints.
Her son, who was in custody since his arrest in September, wore a sweater, a collared shirt, slacks and lace-free shoes. He sat at the defense table and read the Bible, his grey hair and his whiskers, revealing his months in detention.
Johnson told the eight men and four female ju apprentices he would focus on the testimony of three women, including Ventura, 38. She is known as Cathy and was also a singer who was previously signed to his label. Additionally, Johnson said the ju umpire will watch a video of a political party in which Combs directed a sexual encounter.
“You can see for yourself the violence of the defendant and its aftermath,” she said.
Especially in graphic details, Johnson described the party where Ventura “feels like she's choking” when Combs “drained the escort into her mouth.”
Ventura, a 19-year-old model and aspiring singer when she met Combs in the mid-2000s, was physically abused early in her relationship, explaining that in 2009, Combs threw her on the floor of an SUV and repeatedly stomped her into her face.
When it was their turn on Monday, Combs' legal team portrayed the client as “complicated men” who rose from humble beginnings to build an entertainment empire. They acknowledged the violent tendencies, the jealous fuel supply dispute with his ex girlfriend, and admitted that he was responsible for domestic violence.
But despite his “temperament,” Jelagos said he was miscribed in “a private and personal sex life.”
She told the ju judge that there may be multiple points during the trial. This is expected to last around 8 weeks.
“But he's not accused of being mean,” Jelagos said. “He's not accused of being a jerk. He's accused of running an assault company.”
Jelagos saw the witnesses testifying against him as “competent, strong, adult” who was in love with him and is now interested in financial interests. Ventura remained in a relationship with Combs for more than a decade, Jelagos noted.
Over his three and a half years of career, Combs helped make popular names for artists like the infamous Big and Mary J. Blige. By the name Puff Daddy, he had his own first smash in 1997, “I miss you.” Combs' gorgeous white party, held at the Hamptons, Beverly Hills and other playgrounds of the rich, was a magnet for celebrities and music stars.
The line to enter the courthouse on Monday morning was filled with reporters, podcasters, Tiktok influencers and curious members. Inside, they found a clash of famous lawyers. Combs' eight-person legal team is led by Marc Agnifilo, best known for representing NXIVM Sex Cult leader Keith Raniere.
Among the six prosecutors in the case is Moren Comey, who has experience in complex crime issues, such as Githraine Maxwell's 2021 sex trafficking trial. She is the daughter of former FBI director James Comey.
Combs has other brushes into the law, including allegations of assault and a 1999 shooting inside a Manhattan nightclub where three people were injured. He was at the club with his then girlfriend Jennifer Lopez, and was eventually acquitted.
However, the most widely seen episode of violence involving COMBS came in May last year when he aired surveillance footage of him attacking Ventura at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles. On Monday, the ju judges were shown the footage, but it was slower – Combs' lawyer said the tapes were erupted and he acted faster than in real life. Government experts have corrected the speed.
The first witness for the prosecutor on Monday was Israel Flores, a Los Angeles police officer who was a security guard at the InterContinental Hotel. He testified that he responded to a woman suffering on the sixth floor and found a comb sitting on a towel with a “devil-like stare” motionless. The group gathered at the corner was Ventura, who had “purple eyes,” Flores said.
Flores said Combs provided him with a stash of cash he understood to be a bribe. “He was telling me, 'Don't tell anyone,” Flores said. Prosecutors say Combs purchased surveillance footage from Hotel Security for $100,000. However, the copy was clearly still there.
The second witness for the prosecutor was Daniel Phillip, a male stripper whom Ventura said he had been invited multiple times to have sex while Sean Combs was watching and masturbating.
During more than an hour of explicit testimony, Philip said he saw Combs throw a bottle of liquor at Ventura in the past. He then dragged Ventura into another room, Philip testified. “Big, when I tell you to come here, you're here now, not later,” Philip testified that he heard Combs say.
During his testimony, Mr. Combs' three teenage daughters left the courtroom.
Olivia Bensimon contributed the report.
