Who is Cassie Ventura in the Sean "Diddy" Combs trial? What to know about key names in the case
The hip-hop mogul is accused of running a criminal enterprise since at least 2004 that manipulated women into participating in commercial sex acts with him, and sometimes male sex workers, during what prosecutors described as drug-fueled parties called "freak offs."
Combs has been jailed at the Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn since his arrest last September. He faces five counts from four different women, including Ventura.
So far, jurors heard from a former security manager at the Los Angeles hotel where Combs was seen on a now infamous video attacking Ventura in 2016, along with a man who says he was hired to have sex with Ventura while Combs watched, and Ventura herself.
Here's what to know about the charges and key names in the case.
Who is Cassie Ventura? Hotel video a key piece of evidence
Ventura, who performs under the name Cassie, rose to fame with the single "Me & U" on her self-titled debut album. The song landed the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart in 2006.
In her testimony, she said she signed with Bad Boy Records when she was 19, and Combs first kissed her on her 21st birthday. She and Combs dated off-and-on for more than 10 years, from about 2007 to 2018.
She said she recorded hundreds of songs as part of a 10-album deal, but most were never released. She testified Combs became controlling and violent, and the "freak offs" became her job.
Ventura spoke about years of alleged psychological and physical abuse. She also said Wednesday that he raped her after they had broken up in 2018.
The security video of Combs attacking Ventura in the hallway of the InterContinental hotel is a key piece of evidence in his trial. The video, obtained and published by CNN last year, shows Combs throw her onto the floor before kicking and dragging her.
Prosecutors allege the hotel assault happened during a "freak off," but Combs' lawyers, who sought to have the video excluded from trial, argue it was a "glimpse into a complex but decade-long consensual relationship."
Ventura filed a federal lawsuit against Combs in 2023, accusing him of rape and physical abuse. The suit also said Combs paid the hotel $50,000 for the footage.
"After years in silence and darkness, I am finally ready to tell my story, and to speak up on behalf of myself and for the benefit of other women who face violence and abuse in their relationships," Ventura said in a statement to CBS News at the time. "With the expiration of New York's Adult Survivors Act fast approaching, it became clear that this was an opportunity to speak up about the trauma I have experienced and that I will be recovering from for the rest of my life."
Combs later apologized for the behavior seen on the video, but denied the allegations in the lawsuit. In a social media post that has since been removed, he said he was "f---ed up" and "hit rock bottom."
"I take full responsibility for my actions in that video," he said. "I was disgusted then when I did it. I'm disgusted now. I went and I sought out professional help. I got into going to therapy, going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I'm so sorry. But I'm committed to be a better man each and every day. I'm not asking for forgiveness. I'm truly sorry."
One day after the suit was filed, a settlement was announced. While the details were not disclosed, Ventura said in a statement, "I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control."
Combs' defense attorneys said in their opening statements that he and Ventura hadn't seen each other since his ex, Kim Porter's, funeral in 2018.
Ventura is now married and pregnant with her third child. Her husband and brother have both been seen in court for support.
Who are Diddy's other accusers?
Since 2023, dozens of women and men have filed lawsuits against Combs alleging sexual and physical abuse.
Many of the accusers said they were drugged and then abused while incapacitated, and some claimed other celebrities were present or participated in the abuse.
However, the majority of those allegations are not part of the criminal case. Prosecutors have chosen to focus on allegations where there is physical evidence or witness corroboration.
The other three women involved in the trial have not been publicly named and they are expected to testify using pseudonyms. The indictment refers to them as Victim-1, Victim-2 and Victim-3.
Combs has denied all of the allegations through his lawyers, who described the women as "former long-term girlfriends, who were involved in consensual relationships."
Other high-profile names in the Sean Combs case
Prospective jurors were asked if they were familiar with a list of some 190 celebrities, including Michael B. Jordan, Kanye West and Mike Myers, though it wasn't clear how those people are related to the trial, if at all.
The judge overseeing the case is U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, a Columbia Law School graduate and former clerk for the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. President Joe Biden appointed Subramanian as a federal judge in 2022.
The prosecution team is made up of eight assistant U.S. attorneys, seven of them women. They include Maurene Ryan Comey, daughter of former FBI Director James Comey. She was one of the prosecutors in the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of conspiring Jeffrey Epstein to recruit and sexually abuse teenage girls.
Combs' defense team is led by New York lawyer Marc Agnifilo, who along with his wife Karen Friedman Agnifilo is also defending Luigi Mangione in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Also on the seven-person defense team is Atlanta attorney Brian Steel, who represented Young Thug in a trial that lasted nearly two years before the rapper pleaded guilty to gang, drug and gun charges.
Can you watch the Diddy trial live?
Per federal court rules, photos and videos from inside court are not allowed. Courtroom sketches, however, are permitted.
The highly anticipated trial is expected to last eight to 10 weeks. For the first week, court will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
CBS News New York's Alice Gainer will be at the courthouse for the duration of trial and provide real-time updates.
Renee Anderson
Renee Anderson is a digital producer at CBS New York, where she covers breaking news and other local stories. Before joining the team in 2016, Renee worked at WMUR-TV.
contributed to this report.
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