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The opening arguments in the high-profile criminal trial of rapper and music mogul Sean Combs, better known by his nickname Diddy, are set to begin on Monday in Manhattan, New York.
The three-time Grammy winner has been in federal custody since September on charges including sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transporting to engage in prostitution. His trial officially began on May 5.
The multimillionaire American record producer and founder of Bad Boy Records has been accused of using his fame and money to abuse women over the course of 20 years.
The 55-year-old rap star has pleaded not guilty to all charges. But if he is found guilty on all counts, he could face a minimum sentence of 15 years and up to a life term.
Here is everything you need to know about his trial:
What can we expect on Monday?
On Monday, the jury of 12 jurors and six alternates is expected to be finalised, paving the way for opening statements by the government and then the defence.
US District Judge Arun Subramanian will preside over the trial.
Over the course of a two-month trial, jurors are expected to hear testimony from three and possibly four of the rapper’s female accusers, as well as his former employees who prosecutors say helped arrange and cover up his actions.
In this courtroom sketch, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, accompanied by lawyers Marc Agnifilo and Anthony Ricco, attends a hearing in a federal court in the Manhattan borough of New York City, US [File: Jane Rosenberg/Reuters]What are the charges against Combs?
A five-count indictment against the Hip-Hop artist has accused him of sex trafficking, racketeering and transporting individuals for the purpose of prostitution. The indictment also makes claims of sexual assault, physical violence, kidnapping, forced labour, bribery, obstruction of justice and arson against Combs.
He “engaged in a persistent and pervasive pattern of abuse toward women and other individuals”, the indictment said.
This involved years of carrying out threatening and coercive behaviour towards women “to fulfil his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct”, it added.
Over two decades, Combs used violence and threats to force women to take part in days-long, drug-fuelled sexual performances with male sex workers known as “Freak Offs”, according to the indictment.
Combs would often watch the performances, masturbate and film them, sometimes using the recordings as blackmail to ensure his alleged victims did not report his abuse, prosecutors say.
In one 2016 incident that was captured on hotel surveillance footage that prosecutors plan to show the jury, Combs was seen kicking and dragging a woman as she was trying to leave a “Freak Off”, prosecutors say.
CNN last year broadcast footage that appeared to show Combs attacking his former girlfriend, the rhythm and blues singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, in 2016 in a Los Angeles hotel hallway. Combs apologised after the video aired.
Who is going to testify?
Ventura is likely to testify as a key witness for the prosecution.
She sued Combs in November 2023, saying he abused her for years, also involving allegations of rape. However, the lawsuit was settled the next day, with the terms of the settlement remaining undisclosed.
But it triggered a law enforcement investigation and was followed by dozens of lawsuits from people making similar claims.
Three other alleged victims, all women and only known to the public by pseudonyms, are also set to testify, as well as former business associates and law enforcement officers.
What evidence has been presented so far?
A central part of the prosecution’s case rests on the 2016 leaked video showing Combs beating Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel hallway.
The video, released by US media outlet CNN in May 2024, was widely circulated on other news platforms and social media sites.
While Combs’s lawyers have argued the video should not be presented in court, Judge Subramanian said he would allow it.
“The defence can’t show the footage is inadmissible,” he said in a ruling in late April. “There’s no unfair prejudice to Mr. Combs.”
Moreover, in March 2024, his homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by federal authorities and dozens of electronic devices were recovered.
During a hearing in October, one of the prosecutors, Emily Johnson, said 96 electronic devices had been seized in March. Eight of those contained some 90 terabytes of data, which Johnson labelled as “extraordinary”.
What is the defence saying?
Combs has repeatedly denied the allegations.
His lawyers are expected to argue that the sexual activity described by prosecutors was consensual, and say there is nothing illegal about a “swingers” lifestyle in which Combs and his girlfriends occasionally brought a third person into their relationships.
Their strategy at trial will hinge on undermining the credibility of the women who testify against Combs, including by arguing they were motivated by money to accuse him of wrongdoing and have unreliable memories.
Marc Agnifilo, his lawyer, has asserted the indictment was an “unjust prosecution” of his client and that Combs was not a “criminal”.
Agnifilo has said the 2016 hotel incident depicted the aftermath of a dispute over infidelity and was not evidence of sex trafficking.
In a court hearing on Friday, Agnifilo said Ventura had a history of domestic violence, undercutting prosecutors’ argument that she was a victim.
Ventura’s lawyer declined to comment.
Where is Combs right now?
The Bad Boy Records founder has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, without bail since his arrest in September.
He has been denied bail three times, with Judge Subramanian saying there was a “serious risk” of witness tampering.
What sentence does Combs face if convicted?
Combs could face up to life in prison if the jury convicts him on the racketeering charge.
If convicted on the sex trafficking charge, he would have to serve a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, and a maximum of 10 years in prison if found guilty on the charges of transporting to engage in prostitution.
The trial is predicted to last about two months.
