Once a leader of the hip-hop genre, Sean “Diddy” Combs now faces a storm of allegations – racketeering, sex trafficking and over 50 people with testimonies against him.
On Sept. 26, Tony Buzbee, a Texas attorney known for high-profile cases, announced via Instagram that his firm, in collaboration with the Ava Law Group, would represent a “brave group of individuals” who claim to have suffered sexual abuse at the hands of the music mogul and his associates.
“This group of brave individuals includes both men and women; many were minors when the abuse occurred ,” Buzbee said.
An anonymous woman filed a lawsuit alleging that Combs had assaulted her repeatedly over a four-year span, beginning in 2020, according to BBC . She claimed that one of those assaults resulted in pregnancy and a subsequent miscarriage.
On Sept. 17, Combs pleaded not guilty to multiple federal charges, both racketeering and sexual assault, according to CNN . The indictment alleges that Combs “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires.”
Legal experts have weighed in on the challenge of the case, sharing their expectations for a lack of a plea deal, because of the case’s potential to inflate, according to CNN . Shea Rhodes, director of the Villanova Law Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation, noted that Combs’ current circumstances may well embolden others who have suffered in silence.
“I will be very curious if that gives other survivors the courage to come forward,” Rhodes said.
The details of the case extend beyond Combs himself. Legal analysts have scrutinized the potential implications for his associates, who are reportedly implicated in the alleged criminal enterprise, according to CNN . Misty Marris, a trial attorney, pointed out that the prosecution faces a delicate balancing act; witnesses with questionable pasts may have their own agendas.
“You’ve got a lot of people with dirty hands in a racketeering case,” Marris said.
The indictment includes multiple offenses: sex trafficking, physical abuse, arson, forced labor, kidnapping, bribery and obstruction of justice. The breadth of these accusations has left many to speculate the potential for more revelations in the coming weeks.
“I can’t take anything off the table,” Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, told LA Times . “Anything is possible.”
As Combs navigates his crimes being made public, connections are being drawn to the similar criminal case of R. Kelly, according to NBC . Lizzette Martinez, an early victim of former singer R. Kelly’s crimes, told ABC News that pop culture is driving out men like Combs who have abused their power for too long.
In the interest of justice, Judge Carter, who is overseeing Combs’ trial, states that he will exclude periods of time from the 70-day timer that Combs’ trial is legally on, according to Billboard . The next scheduled court date will be a status conference on Oct. 9.