New York, United States | AFP | Tuesday 09/17/2024 – American rapper and powerful hip hop producer Sean “Diddy” Combs will appear in court in New York on Tuesday, where he is accused of using his “empire” to fuel sex trafficking and extortion, according to the federal prosecutor’s indictment.
Arrested Monday evening in Manhattan, the artist, who is the subject of multiple complaints of sexual assault, will plead not guilty to charges of trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation, extortion and transportation of persons for the purpose of prostitution, announced his lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, upon arriving at the court.
An artist with multiple nicknames and roles in the music and business worlds, P. Diddy, 54, is described by his alleged victims as a violent sexual predator who used alcohol and drugs to gain their submission.
“For decades,” Sean Combs, aka “Puff Daddy,” “abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him to satisfy his sexual desires, protect his reputation and hide his actions,” charges the indictment unsealed Tuesday by the Manhattan federal prosecutor’s office.
According to prosecutors, the rapper set up a system: he “leveraged the employees, resources and influence of the multifaceted business empire he ran and controlled to create a criminal enterprise whose members engaged in (…) trafficking for sexual exploitation, forced labor, kidnapping, bribery and obstruction of justice,” the indictment details.
According to his lawyer, his client was in New York “voluntarily” to “surrender” and wants to cooperate with the investigation. A judge could decide to place him in pretrial detention.
The rapper’s luxury homes in Miami and Los Angeles were raided by federal agents in March in a high-profile operation that raised concerns that a federal investigation and criminal case against Combs was looming.
-Figure du hip hop –
Under the nicknames Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Diddy and many others, he has established himself as a hip-hop figure from the East Coast, on the microphone or in production.
He founded Bad Boy Records in 1993, a prelude to his rise to fame. He produced the late Notorious B.I.G., a New York rap legend who was murdered in 1997, and Mary J. Blige. His album “No Way Out” won the Grammy for Best Rap Album in 1997.
He has accumulated immense wealth over the decades, also thanks to his activities in the alcohol industry.
However, despite his efforts to cultivate the image of a business tycoon, a series of complaints portray Combs as a violent man who used his celebrity to prey on women.
The artist denies all accusations against him.
The rapper has been the target of a complaint from a former porn actress, Adria English, since early July. She accuses Sean Combs of using her “as a sexual pawn for the pleasure and financial benefit of others” during parties in the Hamptons, New York, and Florida, between 2004 and 2009.
In total, nine complaints have been filed against the rapper since November 2023.
– “Inexcusable” –
In one of them, filed in November, his former partner “Cassie” Ventura accuses him of having had “violent” and “deviant” behavior for a decade.
In a video from 2016, P. Diddy lashes out at her.
The rapper can be seen catching up with her in a hotel corridor, grabbing her roughly and throwing her violently to the ground, before kicking her several times.
– “Brother love” –
“My behavior in this video is inexcusable,” the billionaire said on Instagram.
The case was settled “amicably” under a confidential agreement.
Combs has been the subject of allegations of abuse since the 1990s, although he has never received any major convictions.
The man who has been trying to restore his image in recent years with yet another nickname, “Brother Love”, has amassed a substantial fortune in more than three decades in the music industry with a bling-bling image, showing off diamonds, yachts and tailor-made suits.
However, a celebrity charity basketball game in New York that he was promoting turned deadly in 1991, with nine people killed after a stampede. Combs faced a series of lawsuits after being accused of neglecting security.
