Hip-hop mogul Sean “Daddy” Combs is currently in federal custody awaiting trial on racketeering and sex-trafficking charges.
His arrest in New York comes amid a series of civil lawsuits for sexual assault and physical abuse, some dating back to the 1990s.
More than two dozen people have filed lawsuits against the rapper, accusing him of using his influence in the entertainment industry to do everything from drugs, assault and rape.
The latest batch of cases involves charges against two men who were minors at the time of the alleged sexual assaults. Both hoped Mr Combs could help jump-start his career in the entertainment industry.
The Harlem-born rapper has denied all allegations, both in the lawsuit and in his federal indictment.
Mr. Coombs, 54, was arrested on Monday, Sept. 16, at a New York hotel on charges of conspiracy to defraud, forced sex trafficking and transportation for the purposes of prostitution.
Federal prosecutors He has been accused “to build a criminal enterprise” in which he “abused, threatened, and coerced women and other people around him to satisfy his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and cover up his conduct.” of”.
They said Mr Coombs used drugs, violence and the power of his position to lure “female victims” into extended sexual acts called “freak-offs”.
They also revealed that they had seized firearms, ammunition and more than 1,000 bottles of lubricant during raids on Mr Coombs’ homes in Miami and Los Angeles in March.
Prosecutors are reportedly in contact with several witnesses who worked under Mr. Combs and some of the defendants currently on trial, leaving open the possibility of more charges.
The singer-producer has pleaded not guilty to three felony charges against him and his lawyer told reporters he was a “fighter” who was “not afraid of accusations”.
Mr. Coombs is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, a federal prison notorious for its violence and poor inmate care.
The MDC includes an extra-security section with barrack-style housing reserved for special inmates, and US media reports Mr Coombs is sharing space with convicted cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman Freud.
His legal team called for his release pending trial because of the prison’s “horrendous” conditions, but prosecutors said he posed a “serious flight risk” and Mr Coombs was shot twice. Bail has been denied.
If convicted, he could face 15 years to life in prison.
Mr Combs’ former on-and-off girlfriend, Cassandra “Casey” Ventura, first blew the whistle on the self-described “bad boy for life”.
In a lawsuit filed last November, the model and musician alleged that he “trapped her in a cycle of abuse, torture and sex trafficking” for more than a decade.
Mr Combs “vehemently” denied the claims. A day after the case went to court, both sides said they had settled the case “happily”, although Mr Coombs’ lawyer said the settlement was “in no way an admission of wrongdoing”.
But in May, CNN obtained surveillance footage showing the entertainer-turned-entrepreneur assaulting Ms. Ventura in a 2016 altercation detailed in her suit.
Mr Coombs eventually admitted to the incident in an Instagram video two days later, saying he was “disgusted” by what he had done.
“My behavior on this video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions,” he said.
At least 27 others – including several men – have since come forward with their claims. Here are the details of some of the cases — many involving plaintiffs who filed anonymously.
Joey Dickerson Nealwho said Ms. Ventura had encouraged her to speak out, alleging that Mr. Combs had “intentionally drugged” and sexually assaulted her in 1991 when she was a student at Syracuse University, and Filming and showing the attack made him a victim of revenge porn. Others
Mr. Coombs’ representatives called the lawsuit “purely a money grab” and called for it to be dismissed.
Lisa Gardner Mr Combs and R&B crooner Aaron Hall are accused of plying her with drinks and then forcing her to have sex against her will when she was 16. She also claimed Mr Combs went to her house the next day and choked her until she passed out. Mr. Coombs’ attorney called the claims “bogus.”
The three initial lawsuits were brought under New York State’s Adult Survivors Act, which gives adult victims a year to bring claims against their abusers regardless of statute of limitations.
Only one woman has been identified so far. Jane Doe claimed that Mr. Combs, former Bad Boy Records president Harvey Pierre and a third man gang-raped her in a New York City studio when she was a 17-year-old high school student.
A few days later, Mr. Combs broke his silence on social media “from individuals looking for a quick payday. His lawyers are seeking to dismiss the case as “baseless and premature.” Mr. Pierre, meanwhile, has called the suit a “fairy tale.”
Rodney “Lil’ Rod” Jonesa producer and videographer who worked on Mr. Combs’ latest album, accused the mogul of running an illegal racketeering business that involved him buying drugs, soliciting sex workers and having sex. The process was forced to tap. She also claimed that Mr Combs and actor Cuba Gooding Jr had groped her without consent.
Grace O’Marcaighwho worked on a yacht leased by the Combs family in 2022, accused the rapper and his son, Christian “King” Combs, of sexual assault. He accused them of creating an “atmosphere of corruption” with suspected sex workers and high-profile figures.
Crystal McKinney Mr Coombs drugged and sexually assaulted her in 2003 when she was 22 after a men’s fashion week show. She also said that she later “blackballed” him into the modeling world.
April Lamproswho says she met Mr Combs in 1994 as a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, detailed “four terrifying sexual encounters” in the early 2000s.
Adrian EnglishA former adult film actress who worked with Mr Coombs in the 2000s said he used him as a “sexual pawn for the pleasure and financial gain of others” during “white parties” held at his New York home. was used as Miami
Don Richardswho once sang in two Combs Assemble groups, including Danity Kane, said he had personally witnessed her violence against Ms Ventura and that she had taken her own life when she tried to intervene. The threat was posed.
Thalia graves.backed by celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred, claimed that Mr. Combs and his bodyguard, Joseph Sherman, raped her and later sedated, forced and bound her before distributing the sex tapes.
Six anonymous accusers: Six cases On October 14, four men and two women filed the application. A woman accused Mr Combs of raping her in a hotel and another lawsuit accused the rapper of ordering a 16-year-old boy to undress after the teenager asked him about getting into the music industry. was talking
Ashley Parham filed a lawsuit on Oct. 15 claiming that Mr. Combs raped her for comments he made about the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur. Shakur’s murder has never been solved, but a man currently on trial for his murder has previously claimed that Mr Coombs paid him to kill him.
Mr Coombs’ legal team has dismissed the lawsuits as “obvious attempts to gain publicity”.
“Mr. Combs and his legal team have complete confidence in the facts, his legal defense and the integrity of the judicial process,” his attorneys said in a statement, adding: “Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted anyone – an adult Or a minor, male or female.”
Nine more cases Posted anonymously between October 20 and October 28. Many of the lawsuits were filed by adults who said they were underage at the time of the alleged sexual assaults.
Two male accusers said in the lawsuit that they were sexually assaulted when they were minors while meeting with the mogul about his career in the music industry.
Several lawsuits detail that the incidents took place at some of Mr. Coombs’ notorious parties.
Five more anonymous cases Mr Coombs was sued on November 19 by three men and two women. The lawsuit centers on allegations of sexual assault between the parties, at least two of which outline rape allegations against Mr. Coombs.
