Federal prosecutors on Tuesday (September 17) unsealed a criminal indictment against Sean “Diddy” Combs on sweeping sex abuse charges, accusing the once-powerful rapper of running an extortion scheme that included sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson and bribery .
Less than a day after the rapper was arrested Monday in New York, Manhattan federal prosecutors revealed the substance of their case against Combs — accusing him of running a criminal enterprise centered on a “pervasive pattern of abusing women,” according to the documents. acquired from Bulletin board.
“For decades, Sean Combs … abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his behavior,” the indictment states. “To do this, Combs relied on the employees, resources and influence of his multifaceted business empire that he led and controlled.”
Combs, 54, is expected to be arraigned later Tuesday in Manhattan federal court.
The charges against Combs come after a flood of civil lawsuits in which at least eight victims have sued him over sexual abuse allegations, starting with a high-profile case filed last year by his longtime girlfriend Cassie Ventura. That case was quickly settled, but was later confirmed by a widely shared video of Combs assaulting her in a hotel.
The criminal charges against Combs were not unexpected. Federal agents raided his homes in Los Angeles and Miami in March, and multiple news outlets reported he faced an ongoing investigation involving possible sex-trafficking allegations.
In a statement Monday, Combs' attorney, Marc Agnifilo, said: “We are disappointed with the decision to continue what we believe to be an unfair prosecution of Mr. Combs by the US Attorney's Office. Sean 'Diddy' Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, doting on his children and working to uplift the Black community.
In Tuesday's unsealed indictment, prosecutors allege Combs violated the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act — a law known as RICO that is often used to target mobsters and drug cartels. Over 14 pages of details, the government alleges Combs ran a similar criminal racket, but one focused on “fulfilling Combs' personal desires, particularly those related to sexual gratification.”
“Combs … used the Combs business, including certain employees, to carry out, facilitate and cover up his abuse and commercial sex,” prosecutors wrote.
Many of the allegations center on so-called “freak offs,” which prosecutors describe as “elaborate and manufactured sexual performances” between victims and male sex workers during which Combs masturbated. They allege that Combs and his associates “used the power and prestige” of his reputation to “intimidate, threaten and lure female victims” into his orbit and then used “violence, threats of violence and coercion” to lure them. make them participate.
During the horrific incidents, prosecutors allege Combs and others kept the victims “docile and compliant” by providing them with drugs, then subjected them to “physical, emotional and verbal abuse,” including hitting and kicking them, threatening the consequences of their careers and blackmailing them in feet.
“The victims believed they could not refuse Combs' demands without risking their financial or job security,” prosecutors wrote. “Combs also used the sensitive, disturbing and incriminating recordings he made during the Freak offs as collateral to ensure the victims' continued obedience and silence.”
In addition to the RICO allegations, the indictment also charges Combs with federal sex trafficking laws and a federal statute prohibiting the transportation of sex workers.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/business/legal/diddy-charged-sex-trafficking-racketeering-indictment-unsealed-1235777362/
