Recap of ‘Diddy' trial: Ex-assistant details multiple alleged sexual assaults by Sean Combs

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3 days ago

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Warning: This story contains descriptions of rape and sexual violence.
A former employee of Sean 'Diddy' Combs took center stage in his federal criminal trial Thursday and testified that he physically and sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions during the time she worked for him.
The employee, who is testifying under the pseudonym 'Mia,' is expected to return to the stand on Friday to end the third week of testimony. The prosecution has said their case is expected to last about five weeks.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted, he could face a sentence of up to life in prison.
Prosecutors have said Combs and some in his inner circle acted as a criminal enterprise and used threats, violence, drugs, bribery, arson, kidnapping and lies to coerce his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura into participating in 'Freak Offs' and to protect the music mogul's reputation.
The defense has acknowledged Combs was violent with romantic partners and said he had 'a bit of a different sex life' but argued he has not committed the alleged federal crimes.
Here's what we learned in testimony Thursday.
Mia, who worked as Combs' personal assistant and for Revolt Films from 2009 until 2017, said he sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions.
Speaking in nearly a whisper and sometimes breaking into tears, Mia said the first time Combs sexually assaulted her was a few months into her employment when they were at the Plaza hotel in New York City for his 40th birthday party. She said Combs asked to speak with her in the kitchen and offered her two shots of vodka that she consumed. She said the drinks 'hit me kinda hard.'
She said she was shocked when Combs then leaned in to kiss her against the wall and put his arm up her dress. Mia said the next thing she remembered, she was sitting in a chair in another room as the sun came up.
In another incident, which she said took place in 2009 or 2010, Mia testified she was asleep in a bottom bunk bed in Combs' Los Angeles home when he climbed on top of her and raped her. The door was unlocked because she wasn't allowed to lock it, per Combs' house rules.
Mia also testified about an incident that she said took place at Combs' Los Angeles home. She said she was packing a bag on the floor in Combs' bedroom closet when Combs appeared with his penis out. 'He grabbed my head and he put it in there,' she said.
Mia testified that she never initiated sexual contact with Combs or told him she wanted to have sex with him. She said she 'froze' and didn't react during each incident.
She added during testimony that she never told him 'no' during the sexual assaults because she was afraid Combs would fire her, ruin her future or physically hurt her.
'I couldn't tell him 'no,' like, about a sandwich, I couldn't tell him 'no' about anything. There's no way I could tell him 'no,'' Mia said.
Mia also testified that she never told the company's human resources department because they were there to 'punish' not protect, and she said she didn't think anybody would believe her.
Mia said she 'absolutely' did not want to talk about these incidents but felt a moral obligation to speak out now because 'when you're scared into silence, these things continue to happen to others,' she said.
'It's the most traumatizing (and) worst thing that's ever happened to me,' Mia said.
Mia also detailed several instances in which Combs physically assaulted her, threw objects at her or yelled at her.
Mia testified that sometimes Combs treated her like his best friend or working partner. At other times, he treated her 'like a worthless piece of crap.'
On one night, Mia testified, Combs made a request of her, but before attending to it, she went to her room to retrieve a tampon, causing Combs to launch into a 'humiliating rant' in front of everyone present. When she told him that she needed to change her tampon, he 'aggressively' threw a bowl of spaghetti at her, she said. The bowl did not hit her, she said.
After that moment, she ran outside, barefoot, and hid in a bush until she went to a hotel later that night, she testified.
In another incident, when Combs' Wi-Fi didn't work, he threw a computer at Mia's head but missed, she testified.
Mia described the work environment with Combs as 'chaotic' and 'toxic,' determined by Combs' ever-changing mood.
Mia said she was 25 or 26 when she first applied to work for Combs. When she and the head of human resources went to Combs' apartment for an interview with him, Combs answered the door in his underwear, she testified. The HR employee left after introducing them, and Combs later put more clothes on, Mia said.
The former assistant said she didn't sleep during her first 24 hours on the job and said working long hours on little sleep was the norm. One time, she said she worked for five days straight without sleep, using extended-release Adderall to stay awake.
The jury was shown a list of Mia's job responsibilities that she wrote in November 2011. The list included 'PROTECT HIM AT ALL TIMES' and 'anticipating his needs, whims, and moods.' She also wrote that Combs could ask her to do '17,000 things at one time' ranging from 'cracking his knuckles to writing his next movie to doing his taxes.'
Mia said she wasn't allowed to leave Combs' homes without his permission. Only Combs' security personnel were allowed to lock their doors, according to his rules, Mia testified.
For about a year, Mia testified, she was the only personal assistant. Asked how she felt during that time, she said: 'I didn't have time to feel. But, like, insane.'
On the stand, Mia recalled incidents of physical violence by Combs against his now ex girlfriend Cassie Ventura, including one during which Mia remembers fearing that Combs was going to kill Ventura.
One incident, first detailed on the stand by Ventura, took place at Ventura's apartment. Mia said she and stylist Deonte Nash, who began his testimony on Wednesday and concluded on Thursday, witnessed Combs assaulting Ventura and tried to intervene. Choking up on the stand, Mia said she saw Combs pick Ventura up and thought, 'is he going to kill her.'
'His eyes turned like black and there was like no getting through,' she said of Combs' demeanor during the incident. 'Like I was trying to get him to stop and it was like he was looking through me.'
Mia said Combs slammed Ventura's head into the corner of a bed, opening up a gash. The jury was earlier in the trial shown a photo of an eyebrow scar that Ventura said came from the assault.
Afterward, Combs told Mia to get in touch with an assistant to schedule a doctor's appointment to fix Ventura's injury and told her to say that Ventura fell because she was drunk, Mia testified.
In 2012, during a trip to Turks and Caicos with Combs and Ventura, Mia said she was woken up by Ventura, who ran into the room screaming that Combs was going to 'kill' her.
In another incident in Turks and Caicos, Mia testified she and Ventura sought to escape Combs and took paddleboards out to sea while Combs was on the beach screaming at them. When the skies turned black, they had to decide if it was 'scarier to face Mother Nature or to go back to Puff,' she said. They went back to shore, she said.
Overall, Mia said she never saw Ventura fight back. 'I've just seen her with her arms up, for him to stop,' she said.
Mia said she never reported anything to the police.
'I believed that Puff's authority was above the police,' she said. Confidentiality was the most important thing to him, Mia testified, and she 'was supposed to protect him from people.'
Deonte Nash, a celebrity stylist who worked with Combs and Ventura for about a decade, testified on cross-examination Thursday morning that he 'always' had concerns for Ventura's safety.
The comments came when defense attorney Xavier Donaldson asked Nash about his previous testimony in which he said he saw a man enter Ventura and Combs' hotel room over New Years in 2016-2017. Nash said he left their room after Ventura said Combs wanted to invite another man over.
Donaldson suggested that since Nash left without asking any questions, he must not have had any concerns about Ventura's safety.
'I always did,' Nash said.
'In this situation, you left the room anyway, correct?' Donaldson asked, shortly after.
'Yes,' Nash responded.