Cassie‘s mother, Regina Ventura, is one of the latest witnesses to take the stand during Sean “Diddy” Combs’ ongoing sex trafficking trial. On Tuesday (May 20), Ventura spoke about the music mogul contacting her and allegedly threatening to release explicit videos of her daughter, which made extremely worried for her daughter’s safety.
Per NBC, Ventura testified that Combs “wanted $20,000 for the video” and he “was angry that he had spent money on Cassie Ventura and that she was with another person.” Ventura said she took out a home equity loan to pay for it, and the money was returned days later. “I was scared for my daughter’s safety,” Ventura told jurors, per USA Today.
She also claims she took photos of her daughter’s bruises and injuries in late 2011 to “make a record of the alleged beatings at the hands of Combs.” She also recalled an incident when she called the police after Cassie told her Diddy took her phone. Notably, the defense team chose not to cross-examine Ms. Ventura’s statements, allowing her damaging testimony to stand uncontested.
Cassie (L) Sean “Diddy” Combs attend the “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between” Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2017 in New York City.
Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
Earlier today, Diddy’s former personal assistant David James also testified and spoke about his experience being employed under the Bad Boy Records founder. He specifically recalled the night Diddy and his team grabbed multiple guns and went to confront Suge Knight at a Los Angeles restaurant one night in 2008. The incident left him so “shook” that he decided to quit his job.
“I was really shook up by it,” James said in court. “This was the first time as his assistant that I realized my life was in danger. I told them I want to leave but give six months notice so I could train the next assistant.”
Cassie, who was Diddy’s girlfriend during the year this occurred, also previously testified to this day. She said Diddy stopped one of their “freak-off” sessions so he could go confront the fellow music industry titan, leaving her terrified and worried about what he might do. “I was screaming and crying, ‘Please don’t do anything stupid.’ I didn’t know what they were going to do,” she said.
Diddy is currently facing one count of racketeering conspiracy; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He was arrested in NYC on Sept. 16, 2024, and was held at MDC Brooklyn without bail.
Prosecutors’ opening remarks allege the media mogul used his money, power, and fame to facilitate two decades of sexually abusive “freak-offs” with countless victims. The defense plans to argue that Diddy’s sexual partners participated during these events willingly. Diddy has consistently and vehemently denied the allegations against him but if convicted, he faces 15 years to life in prison.
Leave a comment