US rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs charged with sex trafficking, racketeering

Unsealed federal indictment against hip-hop mogul says he ‘engaged in persistent and pervasive pattern of abuse’.

A federal indictment against American rapper, music producer and fashion designer Sean “Diddy” Combs has been unsealed, showing the hip-hop artist is facing charges of sex trafficking and racketeering.

The charges were revealed on Tuesday, a day after Combs was arrested in Manhattan following a six-month investigation by federal authorities. The indictment said Combs “engaged in a persistent and pervasive pattern of abuse toward women and other individuals”.

That included years of engaging in threatening and coercive acts towards women “to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct”, the indictment said.

The most extreme allegation was that the music star induced men and women to take part in drug-fuelled, days-long sexual performances known as “freak offs”. The indictment also details an attack on Combs’s former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie.

The criminal indictment was handed down after several lawsuits were filed accusing Combs of a pattern of physical and sexual abuse that continued for years. His lawyer Marc Agnifilo has broadly denied those claims.

Speaking outside a New York court on Tuesday, Agnifilo said Combs would plead not guilty to the federal charges.

He promised to “fight like hell” to get Combs released.

‘Power and prestige’

The indictment described the 54-year-old Combs as the leader of a wider criminal enterprise. That enterprise was alleged to be involved in an array of crimes, including sex trafficking, forced labour, drug offences, kidnapping, arson, bribery, obstruction of justice and interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution.

Racketeering is defined as an effort by a group of people to scheme to repeatedly make a profit through malfeasance.

Combs and his associates, the indictment said, used their “power and prestige” to “intimidate, threaten, and lure” women, “often under the pretense of a romantic relationship”.

Law enforcement officers are seen outside a property belonging to Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in Miami Beach, Florida, in March [Rebecca Blackwell/The Associated Press]

Combs is accused of using threats, coercion and force to get women to participate in sexual performances, which he often recorded. In some instances, he allegedly flew women in to take part in them and used drugs, influence over their careers and financial leverage to assure their participation in the acts, which were highly organised and overseen by his employees, according to the indictment.

In several instances, Combs struck, punched and dragged women on numerous occasions as part of the coercion, the indictment said.

Ensuring silence

The indictment further alleged that Combs would keep recordings of the sex performances as “collateral” to ensure obedience and silence.

He and his associates are accused of pressuring victims not to participate in the federal investigation, including through bribery.

The New York-born Combs was one of the most influential hip-hop artists in the United States throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. He had been credited with launching the careers of the Notorious BIG, Mary J Blige and Usher. He has won three Grammy Awards and received 13 nominations.

But rumours of Combs’s abuses – allegedly committed behind the veil of his music, lifestyle and clothing empire – came to a head in November when Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, filed a lawsuit alleging he had for years abused, raped and coerced her into taking part in unwanted sexual situations.

Marc Agnifilo, attorney for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, arrives at Manhattan federal court [Seth Wenig/The Associated Press]

While the suit was quickly settled, a video of Combs punching and kicking Ventura soon emerged. At the time, Combs apologised for the conduct.

He has also been accused of raping a woman two decades ago when she was 17, among a series of other allegations.

Federal investigators in March searched Combs’s homes in Miami and Los Angeles, finding more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, automatic firearms and ammunition.