CONTENT WARNING: This article contains graphic details that may distress some readers.
The high-profile racketeering and sex-trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs has begun, with an eyebrow raising first day of testimony hearing he “ran a criminal enterprise” and that there was a disturbingly violent and long-running pattern of coercion and/or sexual misconduct.
On Monday, the New York court heard claims that Combs, 55, made a male escort urinate in his then-girlfriend Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura’s mouth while he masturbated in a corner, as reported by news.com.au. After the disturbing incident, she “felt like she was choking”.
The male escort Daniel Phillip, 41, told the court there was another sexual encounter with the pair that deteriorated into violence, and he felt his life “was at risk” from Combs if he went to the police.
Phillip testified that Combs asked for his driver’s license and took a picture of it, telling him at the time that it was “just for insurance”.
During the sexual encounters, Combs would “direct” him and Ventura, he added, telling them to act out certain scenarios and what sex acts to perform.
On day one of the trial, the prosecution outlined claims of what went down in the infamous sex parties in hotel rooms — which he called “freak-offs” or “wild king nights” — and other sexual encounters, along with examples of violence allegedly meted out by the hip-hop mogul.
“Let me be clear, this case is not about a celebrity’s private sexual life,” lawyer Emily Johnson told the court during the prosecution’s opening statement. “The evidence will show the sexual conduct was coercive and criminal.”
She alleged Combs “made women have sex when they didn’t want to be there” and that his inner circle helped facilitate crimes including arson, sex crimes, and kidnapping.
In its opening statement, the prosecution outlined a single night it said was indicative of a pattern of behaviour.
On that night, it said, a jealous Combs allegedly grabbed a gun and woke up an employee to locate and “kill” a man Ventura had been spending time with. When they found her, the prosecution said Combs “beat her brutally, kicking her in the back and flinging her around like a rag doll”, as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald.
“This was just one night in the defendant’s two decades of crimes. This was just the tip of the iceberg,” the court was told.
Prosecutors also alleged Combs threatened to publicly release footage of her having sex with male escorts — “souvenirs of the most humiliating nights of her life” — which he kept for blackmail.
When it came to the infamous “freak-offs”, employees were tasked with setting up the rooms, including extra linen, lighting, and lubricant, the prosecution said. Staff were on call to supply cash for escorts and drugs if needed.
Johnson told the jury that Combs “directed every step of the sex” and that the women were forced to take drugs, typically MDMA.
“He expected the women to appear to be enjoying themselves,” Johnson said.
“(Combs) masturbated throughout the freak offs and videoed them.”
The jury was played CCTV footage from outside a LA hotel room in 2016, which showed Combs kicking and dragging Ventura. It was taken during a freak-off, the prosecution told the court.
They alleged Combs and his associates attempted to pay off security guards with a bag containing US$100,000 (AUD$157,000) in cash, to prevent its circulation. That video aired on CNN last year.
The defence has already conceded the video is “indefensible” and “dehumanising” and that it is evidence of domestic violence, as reported by ABC News. But, this is not evidence of sex trafficking or other offences Combs is charged with, it argued.
One of Combs’ defence lawyers, Teny Geragos, told the jury her client was a “complicated man but this is not a complicated case”. She said this was a matter of adults making free choices in the context of at-times toxic but consenting sexual relationships.
“The government is trying to turn those relationships into a racketeering case, a sex-trafficking case, and it will not work,” she said.
In its opening statement, the defense argued “the government has no place in this man’s private bedrooms“.
It told the jury “there may be points where you think he’s a jerk or a bit mean but he’s not charged with being a jerk or being mean”, per the publication.
The alleged victims were also described as “capable, strong, adult women” who had the freedom to make their own choices.
Combs has been jailed since September last year. He has been charged with one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of transportation for prostitution, which are all felony charges.
Lead image: Getty
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