NOTE: The following article contains disturbing details and video footage. Please read at your own discretion.
As the sex trafficking trial for Sean “Diddy” Combs enters its third day, Combs’ ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, took the stand Wednesday to resume her testimony after a day spent recounting grotesque and humiliating details of her life with him.
Ventura is considered a star witness for the prosecution and her testimony is particularly valuable. Combs was captured on security video violently assaulting Ventura in a hotel hallway in 2016.
Ventura sued Combs in 2023, alleging years of rape and abuse. The suit was settled within hours, but was followed by dozens of similar legal claims and touched off a criminal investigation.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ mother, children arrive at court as sex trafficking trial begins
During her first day of testimony, on the second day of the blockbuster trial, Ventura described being pressured into degrading sexual encounters with paid sex workers. She also recounted being beaten numerous times by Combs when she did things that displeased him — like smiling at him the wrong way.
“You make the wrong face and the next thing I knew I was getting hit in the face,” she said.
Ventura accused Combs of gaining her subservience by threatening to publicly release videos of her with male sex workers.
Combs’ lawyers have acknowledged the rapper could be violent but maintain that the sexual acts were consensual. They say nothing he did amounted to sex trafficking or racketeering (the charges he faces), but insisted he just has unique sexual proclivities.
Day 3
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
What he’s on trial for
U.S. prosecutors allege that for 20 years, behind the scenes, Combs was coercing and abusing women with help from a network of associates who helped silence victims through blackmail and violence.
Combs faces an indictment that includes descriptions of freak-offs, which are defined in the court doc as “elaborate and produced sex performances that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded.”
Numerous witnesses have come forward to accuse Combs of terrorizing people into silence by choking, hitting, kicking and dragging them, according to prosecutors. One indictment alleges that Combs dangled someone from a balcony.
Although dozens of men and women have alleged in lawsuits that Combs abused them, this trial will highlight the claims of four women.
Combs is charged with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has denied all the charges against him and has rejected a plea deal, choosing to go to trial instead.
If found guilty in the New York court, he could face life in prison.
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Global News will be covering the Diddy trial in its entirety. Please check back for updates.
— With files from Global News’ Michelle Butterfield and The Associated Press