The first week of Sean "Diddy" Combs' high-profile sex trafficking trial, expected to span weeks, concluded with Casandra "Cassie" Ventura completing her compelling testimony on Friday, May 16, after four days on the stand. Ventura, a pivotal prosecution witness, leveled serious accusations, including a claim that Combs raped her in 2018. Over their 11-year relationship, Ventura testified that Combs forced her into "Freak Offs" with male sex workers. Demonstrating coercion is critical for prosecutors to secure a sex trafficking conviction. Ventura also described enduring abuse and tight control over her personal life by Combs. The defense began cross-examining Ventura on...

On Thursday, Cassie Ventura, Sean "Diddy" Combs' former girlfriend, testified for a third day as defense attorneys began cross-examination. They focused on their nearly 11-year on-and-off relationship, presenting numerous messages between them, including sexually explicit, affectionate, and jealous exchanges. The defense highlighted Ventura’s drug use, noting instances where she used drugs independently of Combs. The defense inquired about Ventura’s feelings for Combs. She admitted to being in love with him, describing a whirlwind and intimidating start to their relationship. Over time, she believed she saw his true personality emerge, calling him "sweet, attentive." The defense asked, "You told him you...

The trial of Sean Combs continued for a third day on Wednesday, with more graphic testimony from his former girlfriend, the singer Cassie Ventura, who says she was abused and raped by the suspect. The prosecution wrapped up its questioning of Ventura, who will return the stand on Thursday for cross-examination by Combs' lawyers. In graphic and brutal language, Ventura described occasions when she says Combs beat and raped her during a relationship that last more than a decade The jury reviewed photos and heard testimony from Ventura on the physical and mental toll the abuse took on her The...

The trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs continued for a second day on Tuesday, May 13, with jurors hearing testimony from his former partner, Cassie Ventura, the prosecution’s key witness. Ventura described her decade-long relationship with the music mogul, detailing alleged abuse, including coerced sexual encounters with male sex workers while Combs observed. Prosecutors claim Combs operated a criminal enterprise, using drugs, threats, and violence to force individuals into orchestrated sex acts dubbed "freak offs," linking his actions to charges of sexual abuse, drug crimes, arson, and kidnapping. Combs’ defense argued that the allegations, while possibly indicative of domestic violence, do...

Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial began Monday (May 12) in a Manhattan federal courthouse, where prosecutors claimed Combs exploited his music empire for decades to “feed his every desire,” immediately showing jurors a 2016 video of him assaulting Cassie Ventura. On the first day of a trial set to last two months, prosecutors portrayed Combs as a man who used “coercive and criminal conduct” to force at least two women into drug-fueled sex parties called “freak offs.” “For twenty years, the defendant, with the help of his trusted inner circle, committed crime after crime,” prosecutor Emily A. Johnson said...