Sean ‘Diddy’ combs declares himself not guilty of a new accusation as the trial is approaching – The Irish Times

Sean ‘Diddy’ Peines He declared himself innocent on Friday of a new accusation, which added accusations that the Hip-Hop tycoon forced employees to work long hours and threatened to punish those who did not help in his two decades sexual trafficking scheme.

Combs (55) declared himself in the new accusation before the United States District Judge, Arun Subramanian, at a hearing in the Federal Court of Manhattan. A trial remains scheduled for May 5.

With several of his family members looking from the Court Chamber, Comps was taken to the court room wearing gray hair, a gray beard and a baggy jail attire.

Com combs previously declared innocent of the positions of conspiracy of extortion, sex trafficking and transport to participate in prostitution. While the new accusation did not add new positions, he described what prosecutors called the “forced labor” that combs demanded in relation to the alleged extortion conspiracy of 20 years.

He said that combs and his associates “kept control” on some employees by forcing them to work long hours with little sleep, through use or threats of use, physical strength, financial damage, psychological damage and reputation damage.

The combs defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo said that his client never forced anyone to participate in sexual acts.

The prosecutors of the Office of the United States Prosecutor of Manhattan said that combs used their commercial empire, including their record label Bad Boy Entertainment, to sexually abuse women between 2004 and 2024.

The alleged combs abuse included that women participate in recorded sexual actions called “Freak offs” with male sexual workers, which were sometimes transported through state lines.

Agnifilo has said that fans were consensual sexual activities.

Com combs also faces dozens of civil demands for women and men who accused him of sexual assault and other misconduct. He has denied all irregularities.

At Friday’s hearing, Subarmanian said that possible jurors would begin to complete questionnaires on April 28. The interrogation in person of the jurors will begin on May 5, with opening statements on May 12, the judge said. Comps has been carried out in a Brooklyn prison pending trial since its arrest in September 2024.

Also known during his career as Puff Daddy and P Diddy, combs founded Bad Boy Records and is attributed to help the rappers and singers of R&B as Mary J Blige, Faith Evans, notorious great and accompanied by the stars in the 90s and 2000s.

His career has been derailed since federal agents raided their homes in Los Angeles and Miami Beach, Florida, in early 2024 as part of the sexual trafficking investigation that led to their accusation. – Reuters