Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, who faces serious criminal charges in the US, has pleaded not guilty to all charges, as ITV News’ Fred Dimbleby reports
Words by Daniel Boal, ITV News Producer
The sex trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, one of the world’s biggest music moguls and cultural figures, is set to begin in New York on Monday.
The three-time Grammy winner was arrested seven months ago and faces serious criminal charges in the US, as well as a number of civil lawsuits.
Prosecutors have alleged that he “abused, threatened and coerced women” and ran a “criminal enterprise” that involved kidnapping, arson and bribery.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges and has stated all of his sexual relationships were consensual.
Taking place in New York, 12 jurors along with six alternates will be chosen, with opening statements expected to begin shortly after.
The case is expected to last eight weeks. ITV News breaks down what you need to know about the trial.
Why is Combs on trial, and what are the charges?
Combs is charged with 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 has pleaded not guilty. The alleged offences span from 2004 to 2024.
Two more counts were added a month before the trial; one each for sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The indictment against him says he coerced and abused women for years with help from a network of associates and employees while silencing victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings.
Prosecutors allege he used his “power and prestige” as a music star to induce female victims into drugged-up, elaborately produced sexual performances with male sex workers in events dubbed “freak offs.”
Prosecutors revealed shortly before trial that Combs rejected a plea agreement that might have meant a lighter sentence than a conviction could. They did not disclose the terms of the proposed deal.
Who are the accusers, and what is the evidence against Diddy?
Prosecutors have said that, without identifying them publicly, four of Combs’ accusers will testify at the trial.
The prosecution will be allowed to show the jury a security video that appears to show Combs beating and kicking one of his accusers, the R&B singer Cassie, in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016.
Diddy’s attorneys are expected to argue at trial that the government is demonising and distorting the sexual activity of consenting adults.
They have also argued that two of Combs’ longtime girlfriends willingly brought a male sex worker into their relationship.
Cassie, whose legal name is Cassandra Ventura, was Combs’ on-again-off-again romantic partner for more than a decade.
Her 2023 lawsuit against Combs alleged she had been trafficked, raped, plied with drugs and beaten by the rapper over the course of a decade.
The civil lawsuit began the scrutiny that eventually led to his prosecution.
‘Freak offs’
Social media accounts have depicted Diddy’s alleged “freak off” parties as multi-day sex orgies that involved heavy drug use, alcohol and large quantities of baby oil and lubricants.
According to reports, they would start after Diddy’s so called “white parties”, which were attended by celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Mariah Carey and Paris Hilton.
At the more secretive, back-room parties, he is alleged to have induced female victims and male sex workers into drug-fuelled sex performances, according to the indictment.
The charges that Combs faces allege that he arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often recorded the parties.
His staff allegedly arranged transport for victims, and supplied intravenous fluids to help them recover after parties.
When his reputation or authority was threatened, it has been alleged that Combs engaged in acts and threats of violence, threats of financial harm and verbal abuse – including kidnapping and arson.
Who are the key people in the trial?
The trial is in the courtroom of US District Judge Arun Subramanian, who was appointed a federal judge by President Joe Biden in 2022.
The prosecution team consists of eight assistant US attorneys, seven of them women. They include Maurene Ryan Comey, the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey.
She was among the prosecutors in the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein.
Combs’ team of seven defence attorneys is led by New York lawyer Marc Agnifilo, who, along with his wife Karen Friedman Agnifilo, is also defending Luigi Mangione, the man accused of the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Also on the defence team is Atlanta attorney Brian Steel, who represented Young Thug in a trial that went on for nearly two years before the rapper pleaded guilty to gang, drug and gun charges.
Diddy’s court appearance
Combs, 55, has been held at a federal jail in Brooklyn since his September arrest. His formerly jet-black hair is now almost completely grey because dye isn’t allowed at the detention centre.
Combs, who had his own fashion line, has worn yellow jail uniforms in pretrial hearings.
But for the trial, the judge said he can have up to five button-down shirts, five pairs of pants, five sweaters, five pairs of socks and two pairs of shoes without laces.
Under federal court rules, no photos or video of the trial will be allowed. Courtroom sketches are permitted.
What won’t be said at the trial?
Since 2023, dozens of women and men have been filing lawsuits against Combs, claiming he sexually or physically abused them. Many of those people said they were slipped drugs at events hosted by Combs and were abused while they were incapacitated.
Combs has denied all of the allegations through his lawyers.
Some of those lawsuits have claimed that other celebrities were either present for or participated in the abuse.
The great majority of those allegations, however, aren’t part of the criminal case. Prosecutors have chosen to focus on a relatively small number of accusers and allegations where there is physical evidence or corroboration by witnesses.
What sentence could Diddy face?
Ultimately, the decision will be determined by the judge. But each of the charges Diddy is accused of each carry a different sentence. They are as follows:
- Racketeering conspiracy carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
- Sex trafficking has a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, maximum sentence of life in prison.
- Transportation for purposes of prostitution carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
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