US hip hop mogul Sean 'P Diddy' Combs charged with sex trafficking and racketeering

17 September 2024, 14:55 | Updated: 17 September 2024, 15:24

US hip hop star Sean "Diddy" Combs has been charged with sex trafficking and racketeering, according to a federal indictment unsealed in New York on Tuesday.

Combs had been arrested late on Monday in Manhattan, roughly six months after federal authorities conducting a sex trafficking investigation raided his homes in Los Angeles and Miami.

Over the past year, Combs has been sued by people who say he subjected them to physical or sexual abuse.

His ex-girlfriend and singer Cassie is among several women who have made claims against him.

He has denied many of those allegations, and his lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said outside the court that Combs would plead not guilty and that he would "fight like hell" to try to get his client released from custody.

Of Combs, Agnifilo said, "His spirits are good. He's confident."

Combs, 54, was recognised as one of the most influential figures in music before a flood of allegations that emerged over the past year turned him into an industry pariah.

He founded the label Bad Boy records, and is credited with helping turn rappers and R&B singers such as Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, Notorious B.I.G. and Usher into stars.

Also known as P. Diddy and Puff Daddy, he was a major icon in hip-hop in the 1990s and 2000s.

In November, his former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, filed a lawsuit saying he had beaten and raped her for years.

She accused Combs of coercing her and others into unwanted sex in drug-fuelled settings.

The suit was settled in one day but months later, CNN aired hotel security footage showing Combs punching and kicking Cassie and throwing her on the floor.

After the video aired, Combs apologised, saying, "I was disgusted when I did it."

However, Combs and his attorneys denied similar allegations made by others in a string of lawsuits.

Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer for Cassie, said in a statement on Tuesday that "neither Ms Ventura nor I have any comment".

"We appreciate your understanding and if that changes, we will certainly let you know," he added.

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A woman said Combs raped her two decades ago when she was 17.

A music producer sued, saying Combs forced him to have sex with prostitutes.

Another woman, April Lampros, said Combs subjected her to "terrifying sexual encounters," starting when she was a college student in 1994.

The AP does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie and Lampros did.

Combs has gotten out of legal trouble before.

In 2001, he was acquitted of charges related to a Manhattan nightclub shooting two years earlier that injured three people.

His then-protege, Shyne, was convicted of assault and other charges and served around eight years in prison.