Getty ImagesHip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is currently in federal custody awaiting trial on organized crime and sex trafficking charges.
His arrest last week in New York came amid a series of civil lawsuits alleging sexual assault and physical violence, some of which date back to the 1990s.
The eleventh and final accuser, Thalia Graves, alleges that Combs and his bodyguard drugged, tied up and raped her in 2001 and filmed the incident.
The rapper from Harlem denies having committed any criminal offenses.
What is the criminal case about?
Combs, 54, was arrested at a New York hotel on Monday, September 16. He is charged with conspiracy to commit organized crime, sexual abuse through forced prostitution and transportation for the purpose of prostitution.
Federal Prosecutors accused him the “creation of a criminal organisation” in which he “abused, threatened and coerced women and other people around him to satisfy his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his behaviour”.
They said Combs used drugs, violence and the power of his status to seduce “female victims” into extended sexual acts, called “freak offs.”
They also announced that they discovered firearms, ammunition and more than 1,000 bottles of lubricant during raids on Combs’ homes in Miami and Los Angeles in March.
Prosecutors have reportedly contacted several witnesses who worked under Combs, as well as some of the accusers currently suing him, leaving open the possibility of additional charges.
The singer and producer pleaded not guilty to the three charges against him and his lawyer told reporters he was a “fighter” who was “not afraid of the charges.”
Combs is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, a federal prison notorious for its violence and poor care of its inmates.
The MDC includes a high-security area with barrack-like quarters for special prisoners, and US media reports that Combs shares the premises with convicted cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried.
His lawyers had asked for his release pending trial because of the “appalling” conditions in prison, but prosecutors argued there was a “serious risk of flight” and Combs has already been denied bail twice.
If convicted, he faces a prison sentence of between 15 years and life imprisonment.
Who are his accusers?
Getty ImagesCombs’ former on-off girlfriend, Cassie Venturawas the first to bring the self-proclaimed “bad boy for life” to light.
In a lawsuit filed last November, the model and musician claimed he trapped her in a “cycle of abuse, violence and sex trafficking” for over a decade.
Combs “vehemently” denied the allegations. A day after the lawsuit went to court, both parties said they had “amicably” settled the case, although Combs’ attorney said the settlement was “in no way an admission of wrongdoing.”
But in May, CNN obtained surveillance footage showing the entertainer-turned-entrepreneur attacking Ms. Ventura in a 2016 altercation detailed in her lawsuit.
Two days later, Combs finally confirmed the incident in an Instagram video, saying he was “disgusted” by what he had done.
“My behavior in this video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions,” he said.
Ten other people – including one man – have since made their own claims.
Joi Dickerson-Nealwho said Ms Ventura inspired her to speak out, claimed that Combs “intentionally drugged” and raped her when she was a student at Syracuse University in 1991, and that he made her the victim of revenge porn by filming the assault and showing it to others.
Representatives of Combs called the lawsuit “pure money-making” and called for it to be dismissed.
Lisa Gardner accused Combs and R&B singer Aaron Hall of forcing her to have sex against her will when she was 16. She also claimed that Combs came to her house the next day and choked her until she lost consciousness. Combs’ lawyer called the allegations “false.”
The first three lawsuits were filed under New York State’s Adult Survivors Act, which gives adult victims a one-year period to file claims against their abusers, regardless of any statute of limitations.
A woman who has only been identified as Jane Doe claimed that Combs, Harve Pierre, the former president of Bad Boy Records, and a third person brutally raped her in a New York studio when she was a 17-year-old high school student.
A few days later, Combs broke his silence on social media about the “disgusting allegations … from individuals looking for a quick payday.” His lawyers want to dismiss the “baseless and statute-barred” lawsuit. Mr. Pierre has since described the lawsuit as a “fantasy story.”
Rodney “Lil Rod” Jonesa producer and videographer who worked on Combs’ latest album accused the mogul of running an illegal racketeering enterprise in which he was forced to procure drugs, recruit sex workers and record sex acts. He also claimed that Combs and actor Cuba Gooding Jr. groped him without his consent.
Grace O’Marcaighwho worked on a yacht rented by the Combs family in 2022, accused the rapper and his son Christian “King” Combs of sexual assault, accusing them of creating an “environment of debauchery” with alleged sex workers and top celebrities on board.
Crystal McKinney claimed she was drugged and sexually assaulted by Combs after a Men’s Fashion Week event in 2003, when she was 22. She also said he later “blacklisted” her in the modeling world.
April Lamproswho says she met Combs in 1994 as a student at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, described “four terrifying sexual encounters” that lasted until the early 2000s.
Adriatic Englisha former porn actress who worked with Combs in the 2000s said he used her as a “sexual pawn for the pleasure and financial gain of others” during the “white parties” he hosted at his homes in New York and Miami.
Dawn Richardswho once sang in two groups put together by Combs, including Danity Kane, said she personally witnessed his violence against Ms. Ventura and that he threatened to kill her when she tried to intervene.
Thalia Graveswho is supported by star attorney Gloria Allred, claimed that Combs and his bodyguard Joseph Sherman sedated, overpowered and tied her up before filming themselves raping her and later distributing the sex tape.
Representatives for Combs have denied the allegations made by all six recent accusers.
