Sean Combs sex trafficking trial updates: Cassie's testimony ends after days of describing abuse

The hip-hop mogul is charged with sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.

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Last updated: Friday, May 16, 2025 11:26PM GMT
DIDDY ON TRIAL: First week of witness testimony recap
Eyewitness News breaks down the first full week of witness testimony in the Sean Combs trial including star witness Cassie Ventura.

NEW YORK -- After four days on the witness stand, Cassie Ventura concluded her testimony Friday at the trial of her ex-boyfriend, Sean "Diddy" Combs.

It came shortly after the defense concluded nearly two days of cross-examination.

Prosecutors allege Combs, 55, used his fame and fortune to orchestrate an empire of exploitation, coercing women into abusive sex parties.

If Combs is convicted on all charges, which include racketeering, kidnapping, arson, bribery and sex trafficking, he would face a mandatory 15 years in prison and could remain behind bars for life.

This story may contain accounts and descriptions of actual or alleged events that some readers may find disturbing.

"Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy," a new podcast from "20/20" and ABC Audio, traces how the whispers of abuse came to light and led to the downfall of Sean "Diddy" Combs, who was once among the most influential entertainers and entrepreneurs in hip hop. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and more.

Kemberly Richardson reports from Lower Manhattan.

(ABC News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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May 12, 2025, 5:01 PM GMT

Defense says Combs is 'not charged with being mean,' mentions Combs' 'swinger's lifestyle'

In opening statements, Combs' defense attorney, Teny Geragos, said Combs may come across as mean but reminded jurors that he's "not charged with being mean, he's not charged with being a jerk."

Geragos insisted that the criminal charges Combs faces relate to his private, personal sex life. "The government has no place here," she said.

The defense conceded Combs "has a temper" and "got violent" when they say he drank or used drugs but insisted domestic violence was not part of any RICO conspiracy or was meant to coerce women into sexual acts.

Mike Marza speaks with ABC News' Aaron Katersky about the court case.

The defense said the 2016 hotel security video of Combs and Cassie, in which Combs physically attacks her, shows a fight over a phone. Geragos said what is depicted in the video "is dehumanizing and violent and terrible" but not evidence of sex trafficking.

"It is evidence of domestic violence," Geragos said.

Geragos said Combs led a "swingers' lifestyle" and downplayed "freak offs" as consensual threesomes.

"That may not be what you like to do in your bedroom," Geragos said. "But you are not here to judge him for his sexual preferences."

Prosecutor Emily Johnson urged the jury not to believe how the defense characterized the evidence, which they said shows, among other things, Combs violently forcing Cassie and 'Jane' to participate in freak-offs under the threat of releasing videos of the event. Prosecutors have previously pointed to the 2016 video of Combs kicking and dragging Cassie as evidence of allegedly sex trafficking his then-girlfriend for a "freak off" in which she was forced to engage in sex acts with male prostitutes.

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May 12, 2025, 4:48 PM GMT

Defense insists Combs is 'a complicated man'

After the prosecution announced Cassie Ventura, "Jane" and others will testify at trial, defense attorney Teny Geragos, in her opening statement, accused the government of trying to turn relationships and choices involving consenting adults into a racketeering case.

"It will not work," Geragos said.

"Sean Combs is a complicated man but this is not a complicated case. This case is about love, jealousy, infidelity and money," Geragos said.

ByAaron Katersky ABCNews logo
May 12, 2025, 4:02 PM GMT

Opening statements: Prosecution details Combs' alleged dealings with Cassie Ventura, another victim

Sean Combs, the "musician who created an empire," also ran a criminal enterprise with his "trusted inner circle" that committed "crime after crime" for twenty years, including kidnapping, arson, drug offenses, sex crimes, bribery and obstruction, a federal prosecutor said Monday in opening statements.

The prosecutor also detailed Combs' alleged dealings with ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura and another anonymous victim.

The prosecution described how Combs allegedly "used lies, drugs, threats and violence to threaten and coerce first Cassie and then 'Jane' to have sex with him in front of male escorts."

Combs had no discernible expression on his face as the prosecutor recounted the acts he allegedly committed. His six children and his mother are seated in the second row listening to all of it.

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May 12, 2025, 2:49 PM GMT

Jury begins hearing opening statements

Federal prosecutors and defense lawyers began summarizing their cases Monday in the Sean "Diddy" Combs sex trafficking trial, shortly after they settled on the jury that will eventually render judgement on the hip-hop icon.

The proceedings in Manhattan began with prosecutors and the defense rejecting several candidates for the 12-person jury, which also includes six alternates. Testimony will begin after the sides present their opening statements.