US music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs has been jailed on the back of a variety of charges including sex trafficking.
A New York judge refused to grant bail to Combs and ordered him to be sent to jail while he awaits his trial on three federal counts of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Federal prosecutors asked that Combs be jailed without bail, while his attorneys had proposed he be released on a $50 million bond.
In court, Assistant US Attorney Emily Johnson said the government is seeking Combs' detention on "multiple bases," including the severity of the charges against him and the potential punishment of life in prison.
She argued that he is a flight risk and there is a risk of witness intimidation.
"Mr Combs physically and sexually abused victims for decades," Ms Johnson said.
"He used the vast resources of his company to facilitate his abuse and cover up his crimes. Simply put, he is a serial abuser and a serial obstructor."
Music mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs had pleaded not guilty to three federal counts of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, according to an unsealed indictment.
The indictment says the music mogul "engaged in a persistent and pervasive pattern of abuse toward women and other individuals".
The document was unsealed after Combs, 54, was arrested in Manhattan by federal agents last night, following a year in which his career was derailed by several lawsuits accusing him of physical and sexual abuse.
According to the 14-page indictment, Combs allegedly turned his business empire into a criminal enterprise in which he and his associates engaged in sex trafficking, forced labour and other crimes.
The indictment alleges that Combs threatened and coerced women to "fulfil his sexual desires," and on numerous occasions starting around 2009 he assaulted women by "striking, punching, dragging, throwing objects at, and kicking them".
Prosecutors allege that Combs gave women drugs and financial support in exchange for their participation in sexual activity with male sex workers in "highly orchestrated performances".
They also said that in one videotaped and publicly reported incident in March 2016, Combs allegedly attempted to bribe a hotel security staff member who intervened when he threw a vase at a woman who was attempting to leave.
The charges were brought by the office of Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams, which is seeking to have Combs remain in detention pending trial. Combs is due to appear in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday.
His lawyer Marc Agnifilo did not immediately respond to a request for comment after the indictment was made public.
Mr Agnifilo said last night he was disappointed with the decision to pursue an "unjust prosecution" of the rapper and producer.
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"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, adoring his children, and working to uplift the Black community," Mr Agnifilo said.
"He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal."
Mr Agnifilo added that Combs voluntarily relocated to New York in anticipation of the charges.
Combs, who has also been known as P Diddy and Puff Daddy, was a major figure in hip-hop in the 1990s and 2000s. He founded the label Bad Boy Records and is credited with helping turn rappers and R&B singers such as Mary J Blige, Faith Evans, Notorious B.I.G. and Usher into stars.
His reputation came under fire last November when former girlfriend Casandra Ventura, an R&B singer known as Cassie, accused him in a lawsuit of serial physical abuse, sexual slavery and rape during their decade-long relationship. She agreed to an undisclosed settlement one day after suing, even as Combs denied her allegations.
Lawsuits mount
His legal pressures mounted, and he has faced several civil lawsuits by women and men who accused him of sexual assault and other misconduct. His lawyers have been fighting those cases in court. Federal agents raided his homes in Los Angeles and Miami Beach, Florida six months ago.
Singer Dawn Richard, formerly of Danity Kane, last week accused Combs in a lawsuit of sexual assault, battery, sex trafficking, gender discrimination and fraud.
A Michigan judge this month ordered Combs to pay $100 million to Derrick Lee Smith, who said Combs drugged and sexually assaulted him at a party almost 30 years ago, after Combs failed to show up to defend himself in court. A lawyer for Combs said he would seek to dismiss that judgment.
Combs has also rejected claims in a February sex trafficking lawsuit by Rodney 'Lil Rod' Jones, who Combs employed as a producer on his 2023 release The Love Album: Off the Grid.
Combs was acquitted in March 2001 of bribery and weapons charges in a criminal trial stemming from a nightclub shooting that left three people wounded.
Source: Reuters
