Rapper charged with sex trafficking

Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, 54, faces charges including sex trafficking and extortion.

Prosecutors says Combs “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct”.

Since last November, the rapper has been accused of aggravated sexual assault and human trafficking, with a number of women making allegations against Combs in recent months, AP News reports. He is accused of “verbal, emotional, physical and sexual” abuse, including “hit, kicked, threw objects at, and dragged victims, at times, by their hair” in assaults that took “days or weeks to heal“. Combs denies the allegations.

The well-known rapper was arrested Monday at a New York hotel after being indicted by a federal grand jury. He is charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and pandering, alleging that he “abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him to fulfill sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his behavior,” according to Forbes magazine.

The allegations also describe him forcing his female victims, often drugged, to participate with male prostitutes in day-long “sex shows” known as “freak offs. At the same time, Combs would often film these performances and masturbate to them. Often exploiting the victims’ desire to pursue careers in the music industry, these recordings of “freak offs” were used to prevent the victims from disclosing the abuse by threatening to show them. The rapper also carefully controlled his victims by tracking their whereabouts, monitoring their homes and medical records, and supplying them with drugs, according to the indictment.

A police raid on the rapper’s homes in both Miami and Los Angeles turned up drugs and more than 1,000 bottles of body oil and lubricants, prosecutors said.

Criminal organization

According to the indictment, Combs was the leader of a criminal enterprise that engaged in sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, drug crimes, bribery, and obstruction of justice. According to the indictment, everyone who worked for him, including security guards, housekeepers, personal assistants, and “high-level managers,” were part of the criminal enterprise, either knowingly or unknowingly. Combs’ employees were also allegedly involved in organizing the aforementioned “freak offs”.

– Combs did not do this all on his own, prosecutor Damian Williams said at a press conference. He used his business and employees of that business and other close associates to get his way.

The rapper allegedly often threatened people with guns to “intimidate or threaten others”, including victims and witnesses of his abuse. Some guns and ammunition were also allegedly found during police raids.

To date, prosecutors have interviewed more than 50 victims and witnesses of Combs’ alleged abuse, but expect more witnesses to come forward and more arrests to be made.

Combs’ attorneys attempted to have him released on bail pending trial, but the judge decided to keep the suspect in custody until the trial begins.