Sean 'Diddy' Combs appears in court, pleads not guilty to new criminal charges
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Diddy news: Prosecutors add new charges to criminal case in indictment
Embattled music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs was hit with two additional sex crimes charges ahead of his May trial in New York City.
Sean "Diddy" Combs has again pleaded not guilty to new charges brought against him by U.S. attorneys, who accuse him of turning his "multi-faceted business empire" into a "criminal enterprise" over two decades.
Three weeks before Combs' criminal trial is set to begin, the 55-year-old Grammy-winning hip-hop mogul appeared in Manhattan court Monday afternoon for an arraignment. Reuters reports Combs entered a not guilty plea in response to the latest criminal indictment, filed April 3, that adds one count of sex trafficking and one count of transportation to engage in prostitution of "Victim-2" to the previous three charges against him.
In the third superseding indictment, prosecutors claimed Combs' alleged behavior in the additional criminal claims took place from 2021 to 2024.
In response to the revised indictment, Combs' legal team previously said in a statement to USA TODAY, "These are not new allegations or new accusers. These are the same individuals, former long-term girlfriends, who were involved in consensual relationships. This was their private sex life, defined by consent, not coercion."
USA TODAY has reached out to Combs' team for comment.
What crimes is Diddy accused of committing?
Combs now faces two counts of sex trafficking, two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and one count of racketeering ahead of his May 5 trial. He has adamantly maintained his innocence in the criminal case as well as in response to dozens of sexual assault lawsuits, which detail alleged events that date back to the 1990s, that have been filed over the past 1½ years.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York first unsealed its criminal charges against Combs on Sept. 17. Federal prosecutors have since leveled a few new accusations in three superseding indictments as their investigation continues to unfold.
In prosecutors' second superseding indictment from March, new accusations against Combs claimed he subjected employees to forced labor under inhumane circumstances.
Combs and his conspirators "maintained control over certain employees of the Combs Business" and "forced" them to "work long hours with little sleep, through use of, among other things, physical force, psychological harm, financial harm, and reputational harm, and/or threats of the same," per the indictment.
This was an amended version of the first superseding indictment in January, which added three unnamed women who were allegedly victims of his so-called sex trafficking enterprise.
Prosecutors allege that as part of Combs' alleged "criminal enterprise," he and his associates engaged in kidnapping, arson and physical violence, sex trafficking and forced labor, among other crimes.
In November 2023, Combs' ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura filed — and quickly settled — a lawsuit with bombshell assault and abuse allegations against the Bad Boy Records founder. The unnamed "Victim 1" in the criminal indictment against Combs has been identified as Cassie.
Combs is currently in jail after being denied bond multiple times. Jury selection is scheduled to start May 5, with an anticipated May 12 date for opening statements.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support to survivors and their loved ones in English and Spanish at: 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.
Contributing: Jay Stahl, USA TODAY
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