While Sean Combs awaits the start of his trial, federal prosecutors on Thursday added two charges to his indictment – one count of sex trafficking and one count of transportation to engage in prostitution.
These allegations are in relation to one of three female victims who are included in the indictment. The former music mogul and Sean John founder was arrested in September and charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution in a three-count indictment that was filed in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York. He plead not guilty and he has denied any wrongdoing. The initial filing alleged that Combs used his businesses to threaten and abuse women to fulfill his sexual desires.
In the superseding indictment, which was filed in federal court Thursday, Combs is alleged to have used force, fraud or coercion to make a woman take part in commercial sex acts from at least 2021 to 2024. He is accused of transporting the woman — and other people, including commercial sex workers — to take part in prostitution, during that time frame.
In the latest court filing, Combs is facing allegations of sex trafficking three individuals and forcing a fourth, an employee, to engage in sexual acts with him.
“These are not new allegations or new accusers. These are the same individuals, former long-term girlfriends, who were involved in consensual relationships. This was their private sex life, defined by consent, not coercion,” attorneys for Combs said in a statement Friday afternoon.
The original indictment was also amended last month, alleging that Combs forced employees to work long hours and threatened anyone who did not help facilitate his sex trafficking enterprise. He is being detained in the same federal prison as Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive officer Brian Thompson, and Sam Bankman-Fried, the crypto mogul convicted of fraud. Combs’ trial is scheduled to start May 5.
The multi-Grammy winner is facing more than two dozen multiple lawsuits and accusations of rape, sexual assault and drugging some victims. His case has spawned various docuseries, podcasts and news specials, In February, Combs filed a $100 million lawsuit against NBCUniversal for the documentary “Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy.” Three days later, a civil case against Combs and Jay-Z, which alleged they had raped a 13-year-old in 2000, was dismissed.
