
The federal sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, which concluded on Wednesday after seven weeks of testimony, saw more than 30 witnesses take the stand.
The 55-year-old music mogul was convicted of two prostitution-related offenses but acquitted of sex-trafficking and racketeering charges that could have put him behind bars for life by a jury of 12 New Yorkers.
Combs was arrested in September 2024, and faced one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He had pleaded not guilty to all of the charges and consistently denied the accusations against him.
The trial, which took place in lower Manhattan, began on 12 May. Over the course of seven weeks, the jury heard from 34 witnesses, including two of Combs’s former girlfriends, multiple former employees and assistants, several male escorts, stylists, hotel workers, law enforcement agents, and a few well-known figures, and were shown dozens of pieces of evidence.
Here are five key witnesses who testified:
Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura
Ventura, who dated Combs on and off from 2007 to 2018, testified over four days in the first week of the trial.
Largely seen as the prosecution’s key witness in this case, Ventura testified that during her relationship with Combs, he physically abused, coerced and blackmailed her into taking part in the so-called “freak-offs” – the drug-fueled sex marathons with male escorts that she said Combs orchestrated.
Ventura testified that Combs would direct the sexual encounters, watch, masturbate and sometimes film them. She shared graphic details about the encounters that she said sometimes lasted days, noting she often used drugs provided by Combs to “dissociate” and described feeling “worthless”.
Ventura told the court that Combs controlled nearly every aspect of her life, including her career and housing, and was frequently violent with her. Jurors were shown the 2016 surveillance footage of Combs assaulting Ventura in a hotel hallway.
She alleged that Combs would threaten to release videos of her from the “freak-offs”, threaten to withhold financial support and threaten to stifle her career if she didn’t meet his demands. She also alleged that he raped her after their 2018 breakup.
During cross-examination, Combs’s attorneys sought to undermine her credibility, portraying her as a willing and consenting participant in the “freak-offs”. They presented dozens of texts and emails between the couple during their relationship, including explicit messages, and some where Ventura seemed to speak positively about the encounters.
At one point during her testimony, Ventura also briefly discussed her 2023 civil lawsuit against Combs, which accused him of physical and sexual abuse and prompted the federal investigation.
She testified that the case had settled for $20m. During closing arguments, Combs’s lawyer pointed to the settlement sum, calling her a “winner” to the jury and arguing that this was about “money” and not “crime”.
‘Jane’
Another of Combs’s former girlfriends and alleged victims, identified only as “Jane”, testified during weeks four and five of the trial.
Prosecutors described her as a single mother who met Combs in 2020 and dated him from 2021 until his 2024 arrest.
Many of Jane’s claims echoed Ventura’s. She described the frequent and sometimes days-long “freak-offs”, or “hotel nights” that she alleged she was pressured by Combs to participate in.
Jane said that she initially took part to please Combs, but later felt “obligated” to after he began paying her rent in 2023.
She testified that she feared losing her home, where she lived with her son, if she refused Combs. She said Combs threatened to stop supporting her financially, and to leak explicit videos of her and show them to her child’s father.
Jane said she repeatedly told Combs she wanted to stop participating, but that he would dismiss her concerns. She also described a violent altercation between her and Combs in 2024 that left her with a black eye.
Under cross-examination, Combs’s lawyers portrayed Jane, as they did with Ventura, as a consenting participant. They cited loving and explicit text messages between the two, and noted that she sometimes arranged the encounters herself. Jane told the court that she did so to retain some control over who was involved.
Jane also told the court that Combs was still paying her rent and legal fees, and admitted that she still loved him.
‘Mia’
Another woman, a former personal assistant of Combs’s identified as “Mia”, testified that Combs physically and sexually assaulted her multiple times during her employment.
Mia testified that she had felt “trapped” in the situation and that she feared retaliation, and described Combs’s conduct towards her as “the most shameful thing of my life”.
“I couldn’t tell him ‘no’ about anything,” Mia testified. “There’s no way I could tell him ‘no’ because then he would know that I thought what he was doing was wrong and then I would be a target.”
Defense attorneys suggested she fabricated the allegations of sexual assault. They also highlighted social media posts and messages from after the alleged assaults in which Mia praised Combs, calling him a “mentor” and an “inspiration”.
Kid Cudi
Rapper Scott Mescudi, known as Kid Cudi, testified on 22 May that Combs broke into his home in 2011 after discovering Mescudi’s brief relationship with Ventura.
Mescudi told the court that he met Ventura in 2008 and briefly dated her in 2011 during what he understood to be a break in her relationship with Combs.
In December 2011, Mescudi recalled receiving a “really stressed” and “scared” call from Ventura, who said that Combs had found out about them. The rapper said that he picked her up and they went to a hotel.
He said that he and Ventura then spoke on the phone with one of Combs’s employees, who claimed that Combs and an associate were inside Mescudi’s home.
When Mescudi returned home, he said, Combs was not there, but some items in the house were out of place, and his dog was locked in a bathroom. Mescudi said he called the police and filed a report about the apparent break-in.
Weeks later, Mescudi’s car was firebombed, which Mescudi believes was Combs – an allegation Combs and his lawyers deny.
Capricorn Clark
Clark, a former employee of Combs’s, testified that on the morning of the alleged break-in at Mescudi’s home, Combs showed up at her house “furious”, holding a gun, and demanded to know why she hadn’t told him about Ventura’s relationship with Mescudi.
She alleged that Combs, still holding the gun, then “kidnapped” her and forced her to go to Mescudi’s house with him, allegedly telling her: “Get dressed, we’re going to go kill” Mescudi, despite her protesting. (Combs’s lawyers deny that she was kidnapped.)
Clark alleged that she was then made to get into a car with Combs and one of his security guards, who was driving, and that Combs had the gun in his lap.
When they arrived, Clark said, Mescudi wasn’t home. She said she stayed in the car and called Ventura, while Combs and his security guard entered the house.
Clark also testified that during her employment, Combs threatened her, subjected her to lie detector tests and once pushed her.
During cross-examination, Combs’s attorneys challenged Clark’s kidnapping claim and highlighted how Clark had returned to work for Combs multiple times over the years.
• Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organizations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html