Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial: Who is going to testify, what are the charges?

The opening arguments successful the high-profile criminal trial of rapper and euphony mogul Sean Combs, amended known by his nickname Diddy, are acceptable to statesman connected Monday successful Manhattan, New York.

The three-time Grammy victor has been successful national custody since September connected charges including enactment trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transporting to prosecute successful prostitution. His proceedings officially began connected May 5.

The multimillionaire American grounds shaper and laminitis of Bad Boy Records has been accused of utilizing his fame and wealth to maltreatment women implicit the people of 20 years.

The 55-year-old rap prima has pleaded not guilty to each charges. But if helium is recovered blameworthy connected each counts, helium could look a minimum condemnation of 15 years and up to a beingness term.

Here is everything you request to cognize astir his trial:

What tin we expect connected Monday?

On Monday, the assemblage of 12 jurors and six alternates is expected to beryllium finalised, paving the mode for opening statements by the authorities and past the defence.

Once finalised, the prosecutors and Combs’s defence squad are expected to marque their opening statements.

US District Judge Arun Subramanian volition preside implicit the trial.

Over the people of a two-month trial, jurors are expected to perceive grounds from 3 and perchance 4 of the rapper’s pistillate accusers, arsenic good arsenic his erstwhile employees who prosecutors accidental helped put and screen up his actions.

In this courtroom sketch, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, accompanied by lawyers Marc Agnifilo and Anthony Ricco, attends a proceeding successful a national tribunal successful the Manhattan borough of New York City, US [File: Jane Rosenberg/Reuters]

What are the charges against Combs?

A five-count indictment against the Hip-Hop creator has accused him of enactment trafficking, racketeering and transporting individuals for the intent of prostitution. The indictment besides makes claims of intersexual assault, carnal violence, kidnapping, forced labour, bribery, obstruction of justness and arson against Combs.

He “engaged successful a persistent and pervasive signifier of maltreatment toward women and different individuals”, the indictment said.

This progressive years of carrying retired threatening and coercive behaviour towards women “to fulfil his intersexual desires, support his reputation, and conceal his conduct”, it added.

Over 2 decades, Combs utilized unit and threats to unit women to instrumentality portion successful days-long, drug-fuelled intersexual performances with antheral enactment workers known arsenic “Freak Offs”, according to the indictment.

Combs would often ticker the performances, masturbate and movie them, sometimes utilizing the recordings arsenic blackmail to guarantee his alleged victims did not study his abuse, prosecutors say.

In 1 2016 incidental that was captured connected edifice surveillance footage that prosecutors program to amusement the jury, Combs was seen kicking and dragging a pistillate arsenic she was trying to permission a “Freak Off”, prosecutors say.

CNN past twelvemonth broadcast footage that appeared to amusement Combs attacking his erstwhile girlfriend, the bushed and blues vocalist Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, successful 2016 successful a Los Angeles edifice hallway. Combs apologised aft the video aired.

Who is going to testify?

Ventura is apt to attest arsenic a cardinal witnesser for the prosecution.

She sued Combs successful November 2023, saying helium abused her for years, besides involving allegations of rape. However, the suit was settled the adjacent day, with the presumption of the colony remaining undisclosed.

But it triggered a instrumentality enforcement probe and was followed by dozens of lawsuits from radical making akin claims.

Three different alleged victims, each women and lone known to the nationalist by pseudonyms, are besides acceptable to testify, arsenic good arsenic erstwhile concern associates and instrumentality enforcement officers.

What grounds has been presented truthful far?

A cardinal portion of the prosecution’s lawsuit rests connected the 2016 leaked video showing Combs beating Ventura successful a Los Angeles edifice hallway.

The video, released by US media outlet CNN successful May 2024, was wide circulated connected different quality platforms and societal media sites.

While Combs’s lawyers person argued the video should not beryllium presented successful court, Judge Subramanian said helium would let it.

“The defence can’t amusement the footage is inadmissible,” helium said successful a ruling successful precocious April. “There’s nary unfair prejudice to Mr. Combs.”

Moreover, successful March 2024, his homes successful Los Angeles and Miami were raided by national authorities and dozens of physics devices were recovered.

During a proceeding successful October, 1 of the prosecutors, Emily Johnson, said 96 physics devices had been seized successful March. Eight of those contained immoderate 90 terabytes of data, which Johnson labelled arsenic “extraordinary”.

What is the defence saying?

Combs has repeatedly denied the allegations.

His lawyers are expected to reason that the intersexual enactment described by prosecutors was consensual, and accidental determination is thing amerciable astir a “swingers” manner successful which Combs and his girlfriends occasionally brought a 3rd idiosyncratic into their relationships.

Their strategy astatine proceedings volition hinge connected undermining the credibility of the women who attest against Combs, including by arguing they were motivated by wealth to impeach him of wrongdoing and person unreliable memories.

Marc Agnifilo, his lawyer, has asserted the indictment was an “unjust prosecution” of his lawsuit and that Combs was not a “criminal”.

Agnifilo has said the 2016 edifice incidental depicted the aftermath of a quality implicit infidelity and was not grounds of enactment trafficking.

In a tribunal proceeding connected Friday, Agnifilo said Ventura had a past of home violence, undercutting prosecutors’ statement that she was a victim.

Ventura’s lawyer declined to comment.

Where is Combs close now?

The Bad Boy Records laminitis has been held astatine the Metropolitan Detention Center successful Brooklyn, New York, without bail since his apprehension successful September.

He has been denied bail 3 times, with Judge Subramanian saying determination was a “serious risk” of witnesser tampering.

What condemnation does Combs look if convicted?

Combs could look up to beingness successful situation if the assemblage convicts him connected the racketeering charge.

If convicted connected the enactment trafficking charge, helium would person to service a mandatory minimum condemnation of 15 years, and a maximum of 10 years successful situation if recovered blameworthy connected the charges of transporting to prosecute successful prostitution.

The proceedings is predicted to past astir 2 months.