Diddy trial updates: Sean Combs' alleged violence recalled as more witnesses testify

USA Today

27-05-2025

Diddy trial updates: Sean Combs' alleged violence recalled as more witnesses testify
This story contains graphic descriptions that some readers may find disturbing.
Sean "Diddy" Combs' alleged streak of violent behavior is coming to light as additional witnesses testify in the hip-hop mogul's criminal trial.
Attorneys for the Grammy-winning rapper, prosecutors and jurors returned to Manhattan court on May 27 in the fourth week of proceedings in the federal sex-crimes case. This comes after a slew of witnesses, including Cassie Ventura Fine's mother Regina Ventura, Danity Kane alum Dawn Richard and rapper Kid Cudi, appeared in court last week to share harrowing accounts of Combs' alleged abuse.
Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, dated Ventura Fine briefly in 2011. While taking the stand on May 22, he claimed Combs broke into his home and locked his dog in a bathroom — and that his vehicle blew up in another incident — after Combs found out he was seeing his estranged girlfriend.
The incidents are just some of the violent acts prosecutors say Combs undertook during a 20-year scheme to coerce women, including Ventura Fine, to take part in drug-fueled sex parties known as "freak offs" and prevent them from leaving his orbit.
Combs, 55, was arrested in September 2024 and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty.
Diddy on trial newsletter: Step inside the courtroom as music mogul faces sex-crimes charges.
Combs is facing federal sex-crimes and trafficking charges in a sprawling lawsuit that has eroded his status as a power player and kingmaker in the entertainment industry.
He was arrested in September 2024 and has been charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty to all five counts.
Racketeering is the participation in an illegal scheme under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Statute, or RICO, as a way for the U.S. government to prosecute organizations that contribute to criminal activity.
Using RICO law, which is typically aimed at targeting multi-person criminal organizations, prosecutors allege that Combs coerced victims, some of whom they say were sex workers, through intimidation and narcotics to participate in "freak offs" — sometimes dayslong sex performances that federal prosecutors claim they have video of.
The trial will not be televised, as cameras are typically not allowed in federal criminal trial proceedings.
USA TODAY will be reporting live from the courtroom.
Contributing: USA TODAY staff
If you are a survivor of sexual assault, RAINN offers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text "START" to 88788.