Sean "Diddy" Combs charged with sex trafficking and racketeering

After being arrested in New York on Monday, the indictment against Sean “Diddy” Combs has been unsealed. Per CBS News, the music mogul has been charged with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. At a press conference (via CNN), US attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said that “between at least 2008 and the present, Combs abused, threatened and coerced victims to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct.”

Prosecutors are seeking to detain Combs before the trial, per CNN. The District Attorney’s office will argue that Combs is a danger while free, having already attempted to obstruct the investigation; he is believed to have access to weapons and has been accused of violence, bribery, and intimidation in order to cover his crimes. He’s also considered to be a flight risk, given his resources and access to planes. “We are not done. This investigation is ongoing and I encourage anyone with information about this case to come forward and to do it quickly,” Williams said at the press conference.

According to the indictment, Combs has been accused of a “persistent and pervasive pattern of abuse toward women and other individuals. This abuse was, at times, verbal, emotional, physical and sexual.” He was able to manipulate his female partners and others in his sphere “by, among other things, obtaining and distributing narcotics to them, controlling their careers, leveraging his financial support and threatening to cut off the same, and using intimidation and violence.”

Further, the record executive is accused of using his business, “including certain employees, to carry out, facilitate and cover up his abuse and commercial sex.” His businesses allegedly served as a means for Combs and his associates to engage in “sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, coercion and enticement to engage in prostitution, narcotics offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.” The indictment alleges Combs secured loyalty from both associates and victims through violence, threats, and coercion. 

Over the last year, Combs has been accused of horrific acts of abuse by a number of former girlfriends and some associates. The indictment details regular events called “Freak Offs” in which Combs would allegedly organize the transportation of commercial sex workers across state lines and internationally. These events would sometimes last for multiple days in which participants were often drugged to keep them “obedient and compliant.” Combs is said to have “subjected victims to physical, emotional and verbal abuse” at these parties, keeping them there through threats and intimidation and filming the sex acts that took place. “Electronic devices that contain images and videos of the freak offs with multiple victims” were seized during raids of Combs’ properties earlier this year, in addition to assault rifles and ammunition, Williams shared in the press conference. 

Diddy has continued to deny the allegations against him, and on Monday one of his attorneys released a statement calling the arrest “an unjust prosecution” of “an innocent man.” Combs was taken into custody by federal authorities in connection with an ongoing investigation by Homeland Security Investigations; he is expected to appear in court late on Tuesday.