NEED TO KNOW
- Cassie’s mother Regina Ventura took the seat on Tuesday in Diddy’s trial
- She testified she was terrified for her daughter’s safety
- She testified she took photos of Cassie’s bruises to document her daughter’s alleged abuse
The mother of Casandra “Cassie” Ventura testified that her family paid Sean “Diddy” Combs $20,000 out of concern for her daughter’s safety, due to threats Combs allegedly made while Cassie was dating rapper Kid Cudi.
Cassie’s mother Regina Ventura testified in a Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday, May 20, that in 2011, her family took a home equity loan to pay Combs the money.
Combs had allegedly threatened to release explicit videos of Cassie after discovering she was dating rapper Kid Cudi, Regina said.
“I was physically sick,” she said on the stand. “I did not understand it, the sex tape threw me. He was trying to hurt my daughter.”
Combs allegedly demanded $20,000 for the footage, claiming he was “angry” about the money he had spent on Cassie while she was dating someone else.
“We took a home equity loan and that was the only way we could get the money,” Regina said.
Regina’s testimony was consistent with Cassie’s testimony alleging Combs had assaulted her and threatened her after he learned she was dating Kid Cudi.
Cassie, who was Combs’ on-again, off-again girlfriend for over 10 years, said during her bombshell testimony last week that during their relationship, Combs often threatened to release tapes of her engaging in sexual activities with other men during sex parties that Combs called “Freak Offs.”
Combs allegedly assaulted her after a Freak Off in 2011, when he learned she had been dating Kid Cudi. He allegedly threatened to release her videos from the Freak Offs.
“Sean kicked me in the back, I fell on the floor and then left. I had a large bruise on my back and bruises on other places — he literally kicked me with the bottom of his foot,” Cassie said in court last week.
She testified Combs said “he was going to hurt Scott and I,” and “mentioned when we were out of the country that Scott’s car would be blown up and he wanted his friends to see it.”
In December of that year, Regina took photos of Cassie’s bruises allegedly from Combs’ abuse.
“She was bruised and I wanted to make sure we memorialized it,” Regina told the court on Tuesday.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
Read the full article here