Hip-hop mogul Sean Combs pleaded not responsible to intercourse trafficking and different expenses in New York federal court docket on Tuesday.
He’s accused of working a felony enterprise that relied on medication and violence to power girls to “fulfill his sexual needs,” prosecutors mentioned.
Combs appeared in court docket Monday night time after his arrest in New York, about six months after federal brokers raided his houses in Miami and Los Angeles.
The 14-page indictment unsealed Tuesday morning expenses Combs with racketeering, forcible intercourse trafficking and transportation for prostitution.
Prosecutors requested the decide to maintain Mr Coombs in custody till the trial started, saying he may pose a “critical” flight threat.
Combs’ lawyer, Mark Agnifilo, mentioned exterior court docket Tuesday that he was “upset” within the indictment. He mentioned Mr Coombs was the goal of an “unfair prosecution”.
“He is in good spirits. He is assured,” Mr. Agnifilo mentioned.
Federal prosecutors mentioned in court docket paperwork that Mr. Coombs “abused, threatened and coerced the ladies and others round him as a way to fulfill his sexual needs, defend his status and conceal his conduct.”
Prosecutors allege Combs “created a felony enterprise” whose members engaged in intercourse trafficking, pressured labor, kidnapping, arson and bribery beneath his management.
Combs assaulted the ladies “on a number of events” by “hanging, punching, dragging, throwing objects at them and kicking them,” the doc mentioned.
Mr Coombs has beforehand confronted quite a few expenses.
In late December, Combs’ then-girlfriend, singer Casandra Elizabeth Ventura, filed a civil lawsuit in opposition to Combs that included graphic descriptions of violent abuse. He denied the accusations and settled the case the day after it was filed.
Nonetheless, in Might, Combs publicly apologized after video footage of him punching Ms. Ventura in a hallway at a Los Angeles resort.
The latest indictment in opposition to Mr. Coombs accuses him of comparable acts of violence and supplies extra particulars about his intimate habits and relationships.
Ms. Ventura’s lawyer, Douglas Vigdor, declined to touch upon Mr. Combs’ arrest.
In line with court docket paperwork, Combs “used his place and energy” to “seduce feminine victims … to have interaction in extended sexual acts” generally known as “Freak Offs.”
“Whereas on Freak Offs, Combs distributed numerous managed substances to victims, partially to acquire compliance,” the indictment states.
At a information convention after the indictment was unsealed, U.S. Lawyer Damian Williams mentioned officers discovered weapons, ammunition and greater than 1,000 bottles of lubricant after they raided Mr. Coombs’ residence.
Williams mentioned federal brokers additionally discovered three semi-automatic rifles with broken serial numbers and a drum journal.
Williams instructed reporters that additional expenses weren’t dominated out, however he didn’t present particular particulars.
The fees observe a collection of sexual assault allegations in opposition to Mr. Combs, some of the profitable music moguls in rap historical past.
4 girls, together with Ms. Ventura, have filed lawsuits accusing him of sexual and bodily abuse.
In a press release issued in December, Mr Coombs defended himself in opposition to what he mentioned had been “disgusting accusations” made by “people on the lookout for a fast payday”.
Nonetheless, his status took successful.
In June, Mr. Combs returned the “Key to New York Metropolis” that Mayor Eric Adams had given him 9 months earlier.
Days later, Howard College introduced it was revoking Mr. Coombs’ 2014 honorary diploma.
