Greater than 100 individuals will sue rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, accusing him of sexual assault, rape and sexual exploitation, a U.S. lawyer stated.
Texas legal professional Tony Buzbee stated a number of the alleged victims embrace minors who had been abused as younger as 9 years previous.
“This is a crucial concern that we intend to cope with aggressively,” Mr Buzbee advised reporters.
Combs’ legal professional, Erica Wolfe, stated Combs “categorically and categorically” denies the allegations, calling them “false and defamatory.”
Buzbee stated at a information convention on Tuesday that he and his workforce will spare no effort to seek out probably accountable events for the alleged abuse, or “any particular person or entity that participated in or benefited from this egregious conduct.” .
In an announcement to the BBC, Ms Wolfe stated Mr Coombs “seems to be ahead to proving his innocence and defending himself in courtroom, the place the reality will likely be decided primarily based on proof slightly than hypothesis”.
That is the newest authorized motion towards Mr Coombs.
Mr. Combs was arrested final week and faces prison fees of racketeering and intercourse trafficking. He’s presently in federal custody after being denied bail, which he’s interesting.
He has denied all accusations of prison misconduct.
Buzbee, who’s licensed to follow legislation in Texas and New York, stated the whole variety of victims he represents is 120, half of whom are males and half of whom are girls, they usually come from greater than 25 states in america.
He added that 25 of the victims he represented had been minors. This marks the primary time Mr Coombs has been accused of sexually abusing a baby.
Buzbee stated the costs spanned from 1991 to this yr, with incidents occurring in Los Angeles, New York and Miami. A lot of the incidents occurred after 2015, he added.
He stated many of the accusers claimed they had been date raped after events hosted by Mr Coombs at high-profile venues, non-public properties and resorts.
Mr. Buzbee stated the events had been both New Yr’s Eve and Fourth of July events commemorating album releases. One thing else occurred throughout what he calls an audition.
“A variety of occasions, particularly younger individuals making an attempt to get into the trade, are pressured into this conduct below the promise of turning into a star or having Sean Combs hearken to their tapes,” Mr. Buzbee stated.
A then-nine-year-old man claims he was sexually abused by Combs and his associates whereas making an attempt to land a file deal at a New York recording studio, in line with Combs’ legal professional.
“Had he not been in cost, I really feel I might have been nice. I’m out of this trade due to what Sean Combs did to me,” he stated in an announcement by means of his lawyer.
One other man, who was a minor on the time, claimed Mr Combs advised him he could be a “star” however first he would wish to go to the rapper alone with out his dad and mom.
His lawyer claimed that after within the non-public space, Mr Coombs requested the boy to carry out oral intercourse on him.
Mr. Buzbee additionally cited the case of a then-15-year-old lady who claimed she flew to New York to attend a celebration hosted by Mr. Combs and was later raped by Mr. Combs and others.
There was an obvious modus operandi, with alleged victims usually being supplied “spiked” drinks earlier than being sexually assaulted, legal professionals claimed.
“The most important secret in leisure has lastly been revealed,” Mr. Buzbee stated. “The wall of silence has now been damaged.”
He added that this isn’t a category motion lawsuit and will likely be filed individually for every alleged sufferer.
Andrew Van Arsdale, an legal professional with AVA Legislation Group who’s working with Buzbee, stated his agency has acquired greater than 3,000 calls from individuals alleging abuse towards the music mogul.
He stated that along with the 120 alleged victims, his agency was working to overview one other 100 instances.
