Anish Vij
Warning: this article discusses sexual assault and domestic abuse which some readers may find distressing.
A woman expected to testify against Sean 'Diddy' Combs during the criminal trial is reportedly prepared to do so under her real name.
Diddy's trial is set to kick off in New York today (5 May) with jury selection, as the 55-year-old faces five felony charges, which includes sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
“Combs relied on the employees, resources and influence of the multi-faceted business empire that he led and controlled — creating a criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in, and attempted to engage in, among other crimes, sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice,” prosecutors allege in the 14-page indictment.
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Combs has pleaded not guilty to all five charges, and in a statement last month his legal team described his accusers as 'former long-term girlfriends, who were involved in consensual relationships'.
"This was their private sex life, defined by consent, not coercion," they said.
Prosectors allege that the Bad Boy Records founder coerced women into drug-fuelled sex acts at his 'Freak Off' parties.
And even though a number of men and women have alleged in lawsuits that Combs abused them, the criminal trial will highlight the claims of four women.
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Three of the four women have requested for their identities to be hidden from the public.
But Sky News reports that one of the accusers, who has been referred to as Victim 1 in court documents, is prepared to testify under her real name.
Once the trial is underway, it is possible that prosecutors could show jurors security camera footage of Combs allegedly punching, kicking and then dragging singer Cassie in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.
Cassie filed a now-settled lawsuit in late 2023 saying Combs had subjected her to years of abuse, including beatings and rape after they met in 2005.
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After the video aired on CNN last year, he said: “I take full responsibility for my actions in that video.
“I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now.”
The trial is expected to last eight to 10 weeks and will be held five days a week, from Monday through to Friday.
Combs, who has been held without bail since his September arrest, is currently in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Inmates include Luigi Mangione, the man accused of shooting and killing health insurance executive Brian Thompson.
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If found guilty of all charges, Diddy could receive a maximum sentence of life in prison.