Disclaimer: This explainer contains distressing details
The criminal trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs continues for its second day on Tuesday in Manhattan, New York, where he faces charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering.
The trial opened on Monday with jury selection, opening statements and two harrowing testimonies. The three-time Grammy winner has been accused of using his fame and fortune to abuse women over a period of 20 years.
Diddy, 55, who is a rapper, musician and founder of record label Bad Boy Records, has been in federal custody since his arrest in September. District Judge Arun Subramanian is presiding over the case. The trial officially began on May 5.
What is Diddy charged with?
A five-count indictment, spanning 17 pages, against Diddy accuses him of sex trafficking, racketeering, forced labour and transporting individuals for the purpose of prostitution. Racketeering refers to fraudulent or dishonest conduct in business.
In November 2023, his ex-girlfriend and musician, Casandra Ventura, also known by her stage name Cassie, filed a lawsuit against Diddy, accusing him of sex trafficking, sexual assault and battery from 2007 to 2018.
The next day, Cassie and Diddy settled the lawsuit, with details of the settlement unknown. Since then, the hip-hop mogul has faced more than 50 lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault.
Diddy has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
If convicted, he could face punishment ranging from 15 years in prison to a life sentence.
What happened on day one of the Diddy trial?
The day began with the selection of 12 New York jurors and six alternates, who are used in case a juror is unable to attend due to an emergency, such as illness. Then, the court heard opening statements.
Courtroom sketches from Monday show Diddy with grey hair and a grey-beige sweater. His mother, Janice Combs, was also present in the courtroom.
“For 20 years, the defendant, with the help of his trusted inner circle, committed crime after crime,” Emily Johnson, assistant US attorney, said. “That’s why we are here today. That’s what this case is about.”
After this, witnesses were brought to the stand and evidence was presented.
Hotel attack video shown
A March 2016 surveillance camera video of Diddy physically assaulting Cassie was shown in court. In the video, he is seen in the lift bank of a hotel, aggressively shoving Cassie to the ground and kicking her multiple times. He is then seen picking up her belongings and dragging her across the floor and leaving.
Cassie is seen distressed, getting up to use the hotel landline phone. In another video clip, Diddy is seen throwing a glass vase, shattering it. This video first surfaced when it was aired by CNN in 2024, after which he apologised.
The video was shown to support the testimony of the first witness, Israel Florez, who is currently a Los Angeles police officer. In March 2016, Florez was a security guard at the Intercontinental Los Angeles Century City, where the surveillance camera video is from.
Florez told the court he received a call from a distressed woman and found Diddy and Cassie on the sixth floor. Florez said Cassie had a purple eye, and she declined his suggestion of calling the police.
Details about ‘freak-offs’ revealed
Prosecutors said in opening statements that Diddy was involved in “freak-offs” or sex parties that would span days and involve multiple sex workers. They said these parties were drug-fuelled, and the victims were blackmailed with video footage.
“They will tell you about some of the most painful experiences of their lives. The days they spent in hotel rooms, high on drugs, dressed in costumes to perform the defendant’s sexual fantasies,” Johnson, the assistant US attorney, said.
Diddy’s defence held that these events were consensual and the victims did not call the police.
Daniel Phillip’s testimony
The second witness called to court was a male stripper, Daniel Phillip, who told the court he had sex with Cassie for money on multiple occasions between 2012 and 2013 while Diddy watched. Phillip told the court he saw Diddy physically assault Cassie, slapping her, dragging her by the hair and throwing a liquor bottle towards her.
“She literally jumped into my lap, and she was shaking, like literally her whole entire body was shaking. She was terrified,” Phillip said about Cassie.
Diddy’s defence team testifies
The defence team also spoke on the opening day.
Teny Geragos, the defence lawyer, held that her client is angry and violent, but the allegations against him amount to domestic violence rather than sex trafficking, and that his relationships have been consensual.
“This case is about voluntary choices made by capable adults in consensual relationships,” Geragos said during her opening statement. “For Cassie, she made a choice, every single day, to stay with him,” she was quoted as saying by the BBC.
Geragos added that those accusing Diddy were seeking financial compensation.
What could happen on Tuesday?
The trial is expected to resume at 9:30am (13:30 GMT) on Tuesday with the cross-examination of Phillip. After this, Cassie is expected to take the stand. Prosecutors have said four of Diddy’s accusers will testify during the trial, without identifying them publicly.
The trial is predicted to last about two months.
Can the Diddy trial be watched live?
No, the trial is not televised, and electronic media is not allowed inside the courtroom. For this reason, photography and videos are also prohibited inside the courtroom.
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