Seven new lawsuits have been filed against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, including a disturbing allegation of raping a 13-year-old girl, as his legal team battles mounting public scrutiny and seeks bail in his ongoing criminal case. The suits, filed Sunday in state and federal courts, detail allegations from four men and three women who claim sexual assault by Combs at various parties over the past two decades.
Combs, 54, currently faces federal sex trafficking charges following his September 16 arrest. He has pleaded not guilty to allegations of coercing and abusing women, using associates and employees to aid his actions, and silencing victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson, and physical beatings.
His legal team has expressed growing concern about pretrial publicity, asking a judge to restrict potential witnesses and their lawyers from making public statements that could jeopardize a fair trial. “Mr. Combs has been the target of an unending stream of allegations by prospective witnesses and their counsel in the press,” his lawyers wrote, describing these statements as “inflammatory extrajudicial statements aimed at assassinating Mr. Combs’s character.”
The new lawsuits emerge from what attorneys claim are more than 100 potential accusers planning legal action. One particularly serious allegation involves the assault of a 13-year-old girl at a party following the Video Music Awards in Manhattan in September 2000. Another lawsuit alleges the sexual assault of a 17-year-old male at a Manhattan hotel penthouse party in 2022.
Combs’ representatives have dismissed these latest lawsuits as “clear attempts to garner publicity,” maintaining that he “has never sexually assaulted anyone — adult or minor, man or woman.” His legal team expressed confidence in their facts, legal defenses, and the judicial process.
Meanwhile, Combs remains incarcerated pending a May 5 trial, with two judges denying bail in rulings currently under appeal to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. His lawyers have indicated plans to renew his bail application based on “significant changed circumstances,” including constitutional concerns about his confinement conditions.
Prosecutors, however, maintain that bail was denied due to evidence showing Combs “used methodical and sophisticated means to silence and intimidate witnesses throughout the racketeering conspiracy and during the Government’s investigation.”
apnews
