Sean "Diddy" Combs denied bail in sex trafficking case
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Sean "Diddy" Combs at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Sean "Diddy" Combs was denied bail Tuesday after pleading not guilty in a federal sex trafficking case.
The big picture: Prosecutors have charged the music mogul with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution, according to a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday.
- For years, Combs "abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires," prosecutors wrote in the indictment.
Zoom in: Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, confirmed at a press conference Tuesday that the investigation into Combs is ongoing and prosecutors were seeking pre-trial detention.
- "Between at least 2008 and the present, Combs abused, threatened and coerced victims to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct," Williams said.
- Combs' staff and business associates were involved in organizing and facilitating the extended sex performances which Combs dubbed "freak offs," Williams added.
- Combs used "physical, emotional and verbal abuse" to ensure that victims participated in the "freak-offs" and to maintain control over them.
State of play: The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of N.Y. announced Monday evening that Combs had been arrested following a sealed indictment in New York.
- Combs entered a not guilty plea in court Tuesday in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky.
- The judge then granted the prosecution's request to deny him bail.
What they're saying: The rapper and producer had denied all the allegations prior to his arrest.
- Combs' lawyer Marc Agnifilo said in a media statement that they're "disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr Combs by the U.S. Attorney's Office."
- Agnifilo said Combs had traveled to New York last week in anticipation of being charged.
- "He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal," Agnifilo said.
Zoom out: Homeland Security Investigations led raids on Combs' Los Angeles and Miami homes in March as part of a federal investigation.
- Combs' lawyer Aaron Dyer said after the raids that the federal investigation was "nothing more than a witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits."
- Several sexual assault lawsuits have been filed against Combs.
Editor's note: This article has been updated with Combs being denied bail.
