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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs who was arrested on Monday night has pleaded not guilty in court against the charges pressed on him. He was charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution. The hip-hop mogul appeared in court in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday where the judge ruled out that he will be held in jail without bail.
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Diddy pleads not guilty in court
Diddy who was arrested in a New York City hotel will be looking at 15 years of prison, if convicted. In a press conference, the American rapper’s attorney, Mark Agnifilo said, “Mr. Combs is a fighter … he’s not afraid of the charges. He’s been looking forward to this day; he’s been looking forward to clearing his name. He didn’t do these things.” During the criminal investigation, Diddy’s homes in Miami and Los Angeles were raided in March. The police officials found over 1000 bottles of lubricant, a variety of narcotics and three AR-15s.
The unsealed indictment stated that rapper turned mogul “abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him to fulfil his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct” for many years “creating a criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in … sex trafficking, forced labour, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.”
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Diddy’s Freak Offs
According to the indictment, the Bad Boy Records owner and members of the Combs Enterprise such as high-ranking officers, household assistants, security staff and others allegedly facilitated multiple sex gatherings also known as Freak Offs.
In the documents, it was stated that during these gatherings, Diddy reportedly used to hit, kicked, threw objects at and dragged victims, at times, by their hair”. It further claimed that he subjected victims to physical, emotional and verbal abuse to cause the victims to engage in Freak Offs.” These gatherings “often resulted in injuries that took days or weeks to heal,” as reported by Page Six.
The indictment added, “Combs maintained control over his victims through, among other things, physical violence, promises of career opportunities, granting and threatening to withhold financial support, and by other coercive means, including tracking their whereabouts, dictating the victims’ appearance, monitoring their medical records, controlling their housing and supplying them with controlled substances.”
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Diddy’s attorney responds to his arrest
Diddy’s attorney, Agnifilo, condemned the former’s arrest shortly after, expressing, “We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the US Attorney’s Office.” He praised Diddy as he said, “a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children and working to uplift the black community.”
He agreed that his client may be an “imperfect person” but he is not a criminal. He said, “To his credit, Mr Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation, and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges” and asked the public to “reserve your judgment until you have all the facts.”
He concluded, “These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.” Diddy is currently facing eight lawsuits against him accusing him of assault, rape and more.
