Latest news with #defenselawyer
The Independent
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyer makes his ex-girlfriend read loving texts until she cries
A defense lawyer for hip-hop entrepreneur Sean 'Diddy' Combs had his ex-girlfriend read aloud a slew of loving text messages she'd sent him over the past few years until she broke down in tears Wednesday on the witness stand. The second day of cross-examination by attorney Teny Geragos seemed aimed at supporting the defense position that the woman, who testified under the pseudonym ' Jane,' was a willing participant in the sometimes-weekly sex with male sex workers that Combs directed and watched for hours. Geragos and Jane read aloud dozens of text messages exchanged during a relationship that stretched from 2021 until Combs was arrested last September. At one point, Jane read a text saying she had 'never had a man take care of me like you do' and professing her unending love for the entertainment icon — before Jane stopped reading and began sniffling, then dabbed tears from her eyes with a tissue. After prosecutors objected and requested a sidebar conversation with the judge away from the jury, Jane sat slumped in the witness chair, hair hanging over one side of her face. At the defense table, Combs was quietly reading from one of the TV monitors in front of him. It was the fifth day of testimony for Jane, who has said she still loves Combs. She previously discussed gaining insight into her relationship with Combs after three months of therapy. Jane also said she never wanted to have sex with any man except Combs but did so to please him. At other points on Wednesday, Geragos elicited from Jane that she frequently became angry at Combs and wanted to end their relationship because she got upset that he was treating other girlfriends better. In one instance, Jane acknowledged, the Bad Boy Records founder even bought another girlfriend jewelry that was a matching set to jewelry he had given Jane. Prosecutors say they charged Combs with sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy because he used threats, drugs and violence to force women into unwelcome sexual experiences and used his employees and associates to help him get what he wanted. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he faces 15 years to life in prison. The testimony Wednesday came during a shortened day in the courtroom that began in the afternoon. Geragos said she expected to finish her cross-examination Thursday morning. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey, who is leading the prosecution, said the government expects to rest its case as early as next Wednesday. Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo would not outline what will occur when the defense gets its turn to call witnesses, saying that will depend on which witnesses the government still calls to the stand, but he said he was confident the trial will end by July Fourth.
National Post
4 days ago
- Sport
- National Post
Complainant in hockey players' sex assault trial not credible, defence argues
LONDON, Ont. — A woman accusing five hockey players of sexual assault made up a false narrative because she didn't want to take responsibility for her decisions that night, a defence lawyer for one of the players argued as final submissions in the case began Monday. Article content David Humphrey, who represents Michael McLeod, argued the complainant has presented an 'entirely unbelievable and unreliable' version of what transpired the night of June 18 into the early hours of June 19, 2018, and urged the judge to disregard several aspects of the woman's testimony, including that she acted out of fear. Article content Article content Article content He argued the woman may not have been willing to acknowledge to others and even herself that she had been 'sexually adventurous in a hotel room' with several men she had just met, and created a narrative 'in which she bears no responsibility' for her participation in those acts. Article content She was upset that she had cheated on her boyfriend and felt McLeod and Alex Formenton, another accused player who was his roommate at the hotel, had been rude to her as she left, Humphrey said. Article content When her mother found her in the bathroom at home, looking upset, 'it suited her purposes to present herself as a victim,' the defence lawyer argued. Article content 'But what started as … an understandable white lie shared in private with her mother snowballs beyond her control into a criminal investigation.' Article content McLeod, Formenton, Dillon Dube, Carter Hart and Callan Foote have pleaded not guilty to sexual assault. McLeod has also pleaded not guilty to an additional charge of being a party to the offence of sexual assault. Article content Prosecutors allege McLeod, Hart and Dube obtained oral sex from the woman without her consent, and Dube slapped her buttocks while she was engaged in a sexual act with someone else. Article content Article content Foote is accused of doing the splits over the woman's face and 'grazing' his genitals on it without her consent. Formenton is alleged to have had vaginal sex with the complainant inside the bathroom without her consent. Article content All five of the accused were members of Canada's 2018 world junior hockey team and were in London, Ont., with many of their teammates for a series of events marking their gold medal victory at that year's championship, court has heard. Most of the team ended up at a downtown bar, Jack's, after an open-bar gala hosted by Hockey Canada, court heard. Article content The complainant, who was 20 at the time, was at the bar with some co-workers and eventually left with McLeod to go to his hotel room, where they had sex. That encounter is not part of the trial, which instead focuses on what happened after several other players came into the room.
CTV News
24-05-2025
- CTV News
Complainant in Sask. human trafficking trial testifies to working ‘dusk to dawn' without pay
WATCH: A defence lawyer says a woman at the centre of a human trafficking case was never employed at a restaurant while police say she was forced to work there.
ABC News
23-05-2025
- ABC News
Man who allegedly filmed groping of Sunshine Coast women exercising refused bail again
A Queensland man accused of groping multiple women who were out exercising, and filming some of the alleged assaults, will remain behind bars after a fresh bail application was refused. Simon Ricardo Barra Yaite, 21, appeared in the Maroochydore Magistrates Court today facing eight sexual assault charges, with his hearing delayed to await a psychiatric evaluation. The court heard Mr Barra Yaite was first arrested in December, accused of allegedly grabbing multiple women by the buttocks who were out running or walking in Sunshine Coast suburbs including Mountain Creek and Buderim. A police prosecutor told the court today the incidents allegedly took place between August and November last year. Mr Barra Yaite is also accused of having filmed some of his alleged assaults before uploading them to a "sex chat", the court heard. The court heard after Mr Barra Yaite was released on bail in November 2024 he was re-arrested just six weeks later, accused of having groped a 17-year-old girl at her Sunshine Coast workplace. At the time of that alleged incident, Mr Barra Yaite had been subject to bail conditions, including a curfew. Today, Mr Barra Yaite appeared via video link from custody where he has been since December but did not speak throughout the proceedings. Instead, his defence lawyer sought to have him released on bail, telling the court he was at risk of spending too much time behind bars. Prosecutors argued in favour of Mr Barra Yaite remaining behind bars until his next court appearance. A police prosecutor told the court Mr Barra Yaite had admitted to police he filmed some of those alleged instances for the "purpose of re-watching them". "He referred to it as his secret second life," the prosecutor said. The court heard Mr Barra Yaite had made another "concerning" comment, saying his arrest had been required to stop his behaviour. A prosecutor described the evidence as "strong", including police having found a hidden folder on his phone where he had allegedly uploaded the videos of his offending. "These offences have been committed in circumstances where women should have been entitled to feel safe," she said. "He's come up behind them when they're vulnerable." Magistrate Anna Smith said she was concerned Mr Barra Yaite posed an unacceptable risk to the community, and his alleged offending was "more well thought-out than opportunistic". "What we have here is someone on different occasions planning, targeting vulnerable people on different days … and then uploading that for gratification … and keeping it himself for his own gratification," she said. Despite Mr Barra Yaite's lawyer proposing bail conditions, including a 24-hour curfew and living with his parents, bail was refused. He will remain behind bars until the matter is called again in the Maroochydore Magistrates Court on June 9.
