- Sean “Diddy” Combs is on trial in federal court facing five counts including sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution
- The hip-hop mogul pleaded not guilty to the charges in his trial that began on Monday, May 12
- If convicted on all counts, he could face life in prison
Casandra “Cassie” Ventura wanted nothing to do with Sean “Diddy” Combs after he was seen hitting and kicking her in a now-infamous surveillance video from a hotel elevator bank in 2016.
After the violent assault, Combs texted Ventura saying, “the cops are here,” and begged her to call him back, Ventura told jurors on day 3 of her ex-boyfriend’s federal sex crimes trial on Wed., May 14 in Manhattan federal court.
Ventura, who is eight months pregnant, testified that she didn’t actually believe the police showed up to the Los Angeles hotel where the attack took place.
Two days after the attack, she was supposed to attend the premiere of The Perfect Match, which she starred in, she testified.
The premiere was for the “biggest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” she testified — but now she had a black eye and a “fat lip,” she said.
When she did respond to Combs, she texted him saying, “Please stay far away from me.”
Two days after the attack, Ventura attended the premiere in a gown and sunglasses to cover up her black eye, she testified.
Jurors saw pictures of her at the after party with a bruise on her right shin that she sustained in the attack.
The former model and R& B singer is on the stand this week testifying about how her powerful ex-boyfriend of 11 years allegedly forced her to perform sex acts and abused her physically and emotionally.
Arrested in September 2024, Combs pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
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In her opening statement, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson said that Combs ran a criminal enterprise aided by employees and others that lured in women, drugged them and forced them to have sex for days.
In her opening statement, Combs’ defense attorney Teny Geragos said that any sex between her client and Ventura was consensual, as was the fact that she stayed with him for more than a decade.
Combs could face up to life in prison if he is convicted on all counts. Since his arrest, he has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
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.
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