Sean 'Diddy' Combs' defence lawyer has urged a jury to find the former hip-hop mogul not guilty in his sex trafficking trial, saying prosecutors are trying to criminalise his "unusual sexual preferences".
The lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, speaking during his closing argument in the Manhattan federal court, said over the past two months prosecutors had presented a "fake trial" to use Mr Combs' sexual proclivities as evidence of a criminal conspiracy centered on his businesses.
"They take the baby oil and the Astroglide and make it the evidence in this case, because there’s nothing wrong with his businesses," Mr Agnifilo said.
He added that the "crime scene" in the case was Mr Combs’ "private sex life."
Mr Combs, a former billionaire known for elevating hip-hop in American culture, has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and two counts each of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
If convicted on all counts, the Bad Boy Records founder faces a minimum 15-year prison term and could be sentenced to life behind bars.
During the first day of closing arguments yesterday, a US prosecutor told jurors Mr Combs used "violence and fear" to lead a criminal enterprise that helped him subject two of his former girlfriends to sex trafficking.
"The defendant used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted," prosecutor Christy Slavik told jurors in her address.
Ms Slavik added: "He thought that his fame, wealth and power put him above the law."
Mr Combs' defence lawyers acknowledged that he was occasionally violent in domestic relationships.
However, he argued that Mr Combs' conduct did not amount to sex trafficking because the sex acts described by prosecutors were "consensual".
Over more than six weeks of testimony in Manhattan Federal Court, jurors heard two of Mr Combs' former girlfriends testify that they took part in days-long, drug-fueled sex parties sometimes called "freak offs" with male sex workers while Mr Combs watched, masturbated, and occasionally filmed.
Mr Combs did not testify.
The jury saw hotel surveillance footage of Mr Combs beating one of the women in a hallway, and heard Mr Combs' employees describe setting up hotel rooms and buying drugs for the performances.
Jurors are expected to start deliberations either late this evening or on Monday, with a unanimous decision needed to convict Mr Combs.
