Diddy Sex-Trafficking Trial Begins As The Defense…
A jury in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex-trafficking trial was chosen on Monday, consisting of eight males and 4 ladies. Following the choice, Judge Arun Subramanian turned the proceedings over to the attorneys for opening statements.
Source: James Devaney
Prosecutors alleged in their opening remarks that the Bad Boy founder used his fame and energy to run a felony enterprise that facilitated his “freak offs,” drug-fueled orgies involving paid intercourse employees and unwilling individuals, according to NBC News. They also stated he allegedly used violence and coercion to pressure the participation of victims in the freak offs, including ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura.
They also stated jurors will hear from Mia, Combs’ personal assistant for years.
“She is just beginning to grapple with the times he forced himself on her sexually. She wanted to keep the secret to her grave,” Prosecutor Emily Johnson stated.
In their opening assertion, the protection admitted that Combs did sometimes get violent, but insisted all the alleged victims participated willingly in his out-of-the-box intercourse life. They also stated that his occasional bodily abuse and “love of baby oil” weren’t federal crimes.
NBC studies that attorney Teny Geragos ended the protection’s opening statements by insisting that the victims had been all motivated to “lie” about their experiences with Combs because they had been in search of a “money grab.” He also instructed jurors that his accusers weren’t compelled into intercourse and might’ve parted with him at nearly any time.
“They will tell you they were victimized. Ask yourself, what is their motive?” Geragos stated. “The answer is simple: money.”
The protection also asserted that Cassie only ended her relationship with Combs because she realized she would “never” imply as a lot to him as his former girlfriend, Kim Porter. Combs’ attorney, Teny Geragos, alleged this in her opening assertion.
When Porter died of pneumonia in 2018, Cassie went to the funeral to assist Combs. After listening to how Combs talked about Porter at the funeral, Geragos claims Cassie left on her own phrases when it was clear “she would never be that, never be his wife, never be his love of his life.”
The protection isn’t denying allegations that Combs has dedicated acts of home violence or used child oil during intercourse, but they insist none of those actions quantity to potential federal crimes.
“We will not shy away from the things he did, but we will not own the things he did not do,” Geragos instructed jurors. “He is physical, he is a drug user, you may know of his love of baby oil. Is that a federal crime? No!”
1st Witness Takes The Stand In Diddy’s Trial
LAPD officer Israel Florez, who once labored in resort security, was the first witness to take the stand on Monday.
Florez testified that he was on shift the day at the Intercontinental resort in March 2016, where surveillance video confirmed Combs dragging and kicking Cassie in the hallway.
After the incident, Florez was known as to a girl in misery on the sixth ground of the resort, testifying that he acknowledged Combs, but didn’t acknowledge Cassie at the time.
“She was scared,” the officer testified, according to NBC News. “She was in the corner, hood on, covered up. I couldn’t see her face, she was pretty much in the corner, on the floor was a destroyed flower vase.”
Florez seen Cassie making an attempt to stroll away and get her cellphone, but Combs instructed her she wasn’t going to go away. The former resort guard stated he put his physique in the doorway and stood for a couple of minutes until Cassie left the room.
“I started to leave and (Combs) called for me,” Florez stated. “He had a sack of money and he threw it at me and said, ‘Don’t tell anyone.’”
He also testified that he took a video of the resort assault on his cellphone to “show his wife.”
A present LAPD officer just testified he copied the video of Diddy assaulting Cassie when he labored security at the resort, so he might show it to his spouse. https://t.co/dF2G3rYG4w
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) May 12, 2025
Combs is dealing with 5 felony counts: one depend of racketeering conspiracy; two counts of intercourse trafficking by pressure, fraud, or coercion; and two counts of transportation to interact in prostitution. He has denied all of the allegations against him.
The post Diddy Sex-Trafficking Trial Begins As The Defense Insists His Lifestyle Is Not A Federal Crime, Hotel Security 1st To Testify appeared first on GWN.
