Prosecutors added new details to their indictment against Sean 'Diddy' Combs on Thursday, revealing that the hip-hop mogul, who is scheduled for a May trial, is accused of sex trafficking at least three women and of once dangling someone off a hotel balcony during a two-decade racketeering conspiracy, as reported by the Associated Press.
The updated indictment was filed in Manhattan federal court. Combs' attorney, Marc Agnifilo, pointed out that the superseding indictment does not include any new charges, said the AP report.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to the sex trafficking charges brought against him following his September arrest. He remains in custody without bail, awaiting his trial set for May 5.
In the superseding indictment, prosecutors added four years to the length of the alleged racketeering conspiracy, saying it lasted from about 2004 to 2024. The original indictment said the conspiracy began by 2008.
The indictment specified that there are at least three female victims, listing them only as “Victim-1,” “Victim-2” and “Victim-3.”
Prosecutors said Combs used the “power and prestige” he wielded as a music mogul to intimidate, threaten and lure women into his orbit, often under the pretense of a romantic relationship.
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The indictment alleges that Combs used force, threats, and coercion to compel victims, including the three women, to engage in commercial sex acts. It further claims he subjected his victims to violence, threats of violence, threats of financial and reputational harm, and verbal abuse.
“On multiple occasions, Combs threw both objects and people, as well as hit, dragged, choked and shoved others,” it said. “On one occasion, Combs dangled a victim over an apartment balcony.”
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Prosecutors offered no other information about that allegation, reported AP.
Agnifilo, in a statement, said Combs remains committed to fighting the charges.
“The government has added the ridiculous theory that two of Mr. Combs’ former girlfriends were not girlfriends at all but were prostitutes. ”
Earlier this month, defence lawyers said in court papers that the allegations described in the indictment were a “sexist and puritanical” reaction by prosecutors to consensual sex acts between willing adults.
They wrote that "the government’s theory perpetuates stereotypes of female victimhood and lack of agency.”
They said the government’s view depends on the characterization of the sex performances as “dirty, disgusting, or inherently unsavory” and shows that the government “seeks to police non-conforming sexual activity and that it assumes — despite all evidence to the contrary — that a woman’s willing participation must have been coerced.”
(With inputs from AP)
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