Jurors are starting their deliberations Monday in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking case, weighing charges that could put the hip-hop mogul in prison for life.
After more than two hours of legal instructions from federal Judge Arun Subramanian, the jury of eight men and four women headed behind closed doors to deliberate.
They’ll be sifting through seven weeks of sometimes graphic and emotional testimony about the rap, fashion and reality TV impresario ’s propensity for violence and his sexual predilections, including drug-fueled sex marathons dubbed “ freak-offs ” or “hotel nights.”
Jurors are being provided with a laptop loaded with all of the exhibits shown in court, including text messages, photographs and videos of the sexual encounters at the heart of the case.
As he sent the jury to deliberate, Subramanian told the five alternate jurors to remain on standby in case they’re needed to fill in on the main jury.
About 10 minutes into deliberations, the jury sent a note indicating they’d completed their first order of business: electing a foreperson.
Combs faced his family and supporters, who are in the courtroom gallery, all who were bowing their heads in prayer — his family members holding hands with each other. As they finish, they all applauded.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking — relating to two of his ex-girlfriends — and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution for allegedly arranging to fly sex workers across state lines.
In closing arguments last week, federal prosecutors and Combs’ defense team took their last shots at convincing jurors to convict or acquit the Grammy Award-winning founder of Bad Boy Records.
“The defendant used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik said. “He thought that his fame, wealth and power put him above the law.”
She said that he used his “close inner circle and a small army of personal staff, who made it their mission to meet the defendant’s every desire, promote his power and protect his reputation at all costs.”
Defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo countered, “This isn’t about crime. It’s about money.” He noted that one of Combs’ accusers in the criminal case also sued him in civil court.
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“He is not a racketeer. He is not a conspirator to commit racketeering. He is none of these things. He is innocent. He sits there innocent. Return him to his family, who have been waiting for him,” the lawyer told jurors.
In all, 34 witnesses testified, headlined by Combs’ former girlfriends Cassie — the R&B singer born Casandra Ventura — and “ Jane,” who testified under a pseudonym. Both women said he often was violent toward them. Cassie said he forced her into hundreds of sexual encounters with paid male sex workers while Jane recounted numerous “hotel nights.”
Jurors also saw now-infamous security camera video of Combs beating, kicking and dragging Cassie at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016 and clips from videos of sexual encounters.
Combs chose not to testify, and his lawyers didn’t call any witnesses in their defense case. His attorneys elected instead to challenge the accusers’ credibility during lengthy cross-examination questioning.
The defense has acknowledged that Combs veered into violence, but his lawyers maintain that the sex acts were consensual. They contend that prosecutors are intruding in Combs’ personal life and that he’s done nothing to warrant the charges against him.
Here’s what to know about the case:
What are the charges?
The three-time Grammy Award winner has pleaded not guilty to five felony charges: one count of racketeering conspiracy; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
“He’s the leader of a criminal enterprise. He doesn’t take no for an answer,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik said in her closing arguments on Thursday.
Combs’ lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, portrayed the Bad Boys Records founder as the victim of overzealous prosecutors who exaggerated elements of his lifestyle and recreational drug use to bring charges that resulted in what he called a “fake trial.”
After 29 days and 34 witnesses, both sides have rested in the sex-trafficking trial of music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs. NBC New York’s Erica Byfield reports.
Key pieces of evidence
Early in the trial, prosecutors showed jurors 2016 security video of Combs beating and kicking his former longtime girlfriend Cassie at a Los Angeles hotel. Cassie, an R&B singer whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, testified the assault took place as she was trying to leave one of the sexual encounters, which witnesses say he referred to as “freak-offs” or “hotel nights.”
Jurors saw numerous explicit clips of such encounters, some involving Cassie and others involving a later girlfriend who was identified only by the the pseudonym “Jane.”
Both women took the stand.
Cassie testified over four days that she participated in hundreds of the events with paid sex workers while she and Combs were in a relationship from 2007 until 2018, often feeling like she didn’t have a choice. She sued Combs in 2023, alleging years of abuse. He settled within hours, and dozens of similar lawsuits followed.
Jane testified over six days that she was romantically involved with Combs from 2021 until his September arrest at a New York hotel, and that she, too, felt forced to have sex with the hired strangers in multiday sex marathons while Combs watched.
The Associated Press doesn’t generally identify people who say they are victims of sexual abuse unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie has done.
Testimony also included hours of text message exchanges, some of which involved Combs or other people in his orbit, that were read aloud by a Homeland Security Investigations agent.
In all, 34 people took the stand, all of them called by the prosecution.
Combs did not testify.
Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673.
