Sean 'Diddy' Combs charged with sex trafficking for 'widely known' abuse, indictment says
Federal authorities are charging Sean "Diddy" Combs with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, according to an unsealed indictment against him by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York released Tuesday.
The details of Combs' arrest indictment have been revealed after the music mogul, who was the subject of a sex trafficking investigation and a pair of federal raids, was arrested in New York City on Monday. The producer was taken into custody "based on a sealed indictment," SDNY announced on social media, noting it would have "more to say" after the indictment was unsealed Tuesday morning.
Multiple AR-15 guns, large-capacity magazines, "evidence" of the crimes in the indictment and over 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant were discovered during the raids, said Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, at a press conference Tuesday.
According to the 14-page indictment filed by the New York district court, Combs turned his "multi-faceted business empire" into a "criminal enterprise" in which he and his associates engaged in kidnapping, arson and physical violence, sex trafficking and forced labor, among other crimes.
Combs threatened and coerced women to "fulfill his sexual desires," the indictment said.
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"We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney's Office," Combs' attorney, Marc Agnifilo, told USA TODAY in a statement Monday. "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. He is an imperfect person but he is not a criminal."
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Combs was arrested on one count of sex trafficking, one count of racketeering and one count of transportation to engage in prostitution.
According to the indictment, federal prosecutors allege Combs "abused, threatened, and coerced women and others" to "fulfill his sexual desires" in a "recurrent and widely known" pattern of abuse. Combs' abuse, they claim, ranged from emotional and verbal to physical and sexual.
His "criminal enterprise" included sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, coercion and enticement to engage in prostitution, kidnapping, bribery, drug offenses and arson, among other crimes, prosecutors allege.
He "manipulated women to participate in highly orchestrated performances of sexual activity with male commercial sex workers." To ensure their participation, Combs would distribute drugs like ketamine, ecstasy and gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), and control their careers or leverage his money, "threatening to cut off (financial support), and using intimidation and violence."
Women were lured into this lifestyle "under the pretense of a romantic relationship," according to the indictment. The rapper would send victims into hiding for, in some instances, days at a time to conceal their abuse, and, when they attempted to flee, Combs would send employees to find them.
Prosecutors allege the abuse occurred from at least 2009, in which Combs punched, struck, dragged and kicked various women. The indictment also alleges the abuse extended to his employees and witnesses to this abuse. Employees – including security, household staff and assistants – were also used to "cover up his abuse and commercial sex" operation, the indictment says.
In another instance, he allegedly "kidnapped an individual at gunpoint to facilitate breaking into and entering the residence of another" in 2011. He set fire to that same person's (whose residence it was) "vehicle by slicing open the car's convertible top and dropping a Molotov cocktail inside the interior."
The incident echoes events alleged by Combs' ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a since-settled lawsuit in November, in which she accused the producer of blowing up rapper Kid Cudi's car.
US attorney Damian Williams: Diddy facing jail time after sex trafficking arrest
Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, addressed the media during the press conference Tuesday. Williams said the investigation is "very active" and announced prosecutors are seeking pretrial detention, meaning Combs faces jail time ahead of trial.
Agnifilo said in his statement that the rapper has been "nothing but cooperative" in the investigation and "voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges."
Williams responded to Agnifilo during the press conference by noting there is "tremendous elasticity" around the term "cooperative."
The U.S. attorney also referred to a letter his office sent to U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky on Tuesday, in which he asks her to consider detaining Combs because, "if released, he remains a serious risk of flight, despite the conditions offered by his counsel" and is at "a significant risk of obstructing justice."
Williams' letter also outlines alleged efforts by Combs that suggest victim tampering, including efforts to "conceal" his actions with victims who received grand jury subpoenas. The letter notes that no bail package "can reasonably assure the safety of others in this case," adding that Combs' attorneys have asked for a $50 million bond and home detention at the media mogul's multimillion-dollar home in Miami.
What is a 'freak off'? Police seized more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil from Diddy's homes
The indictment refers to Combs' alleged "freak off" parties, or "elaborate and produced sex performances" that were recorded without many victims' consent and at times used as collateral against them.
Combs "arranged, directed" and "masturbated during" these sometimes dayslong "performances" involving sex workers, with him and his employees distributing drugs to victims, partly to keep them "obedient and compliant."
In addition to drugs, Combs and his employees also conducted freak offs by booking hotel rooms and stocking them with supplies, including baby oil, lube, extra bedsheets and lighting, according to the indictment. In the raids of Combs' homes in March, Los Angeles and Miami law enforcement seized "more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant."
One freak off caused $46,000 worth of damages to a New York penthouse hotel room in 2012, which Combs subsequently paid to cover, Williams said.
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During the raids, police also seized three AR-15s with scratched-off serial numbers. "Two of the three defaced AR-15s were found in the (Combs') Miami bedroom closet, stored broken down in parts, along with magazines that were loaded with ammunition," Williams' letter states. Combs himself "brandished" guns to intimidate victims, the indictment said.
Williams added in addition to the guns and supplies mentioned in the indictment, authorities obtained more "evidence" of Combs' crimes.
"The evidence includes records obtained pursuant to over 300 grand jury subpoenas and other voluntary productions," the letter continued. "These materials come from over 100 entities and individuals, including communications providers; tech companies; social media companies; banks and other financial institutions; airlines, hotels, car services, and other travel-related companies; escort services; and even the defendant’s companies and wealth management firm."
Diddy's arrest follows lawsuits from Cassie Ventura, Dawn Richard, more
Diddy's wave of legal trouble was spurred by a bombshell lawsuit filed by ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in November. The R&B singer accused the mogul of rape, sex trafficking and physical abuse, with both settling the lawsuit for an undisclosed amount the following day.
At the time, Diddy admitted to no wrongdoing, but months later, after CNN released a video of the rapper striking and dragging the "Me & U" singer in 2016, he later apologized in a May Instagram video and said he makes "no excuses" for his behavior.
Other high-profile lawsuits include one filed by "The Love Album: Off the Grid" producer Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones Jr. in February, accusing Diddy and his associates of participating in "a sex-trafficking venture."
In June, Michigan inmate Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith filed a civil lawsuit for an alleged 1997 sexual assault. This month, the convict was granted $100 million in default judgment after Combs failed to respond or appear in court. In response, Combs filed a pair of emergency motions on Sept. 12 to dismiss the multimillion-dollar judgment.
Earlier this month, Dawn Richard, formerly of the Bad Boy Records girl group Danity Kane and trio Diddy Dirty Money, sued Combs on 21 counts of sexual assault and battery, sex trafficking, gender discrimination and copyright infringement.
Other recent lawsuits have come from former model Crystal McKinney, an unnamed 17-year-old girl, then-fashion student April Lampros and then-college student Joi Dickerson-Neal, who have accused the producer of rape or sexual assault during incidents in the early 1990s to early 2000s.
Contributing: Jay Stahl and Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY; Luc Cohen and Daniel Trotta, Reuters