Jury in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ sex trafficking trial to start deliberating
By Luc Cohen and Jack Queen
June 30, 2025 1:59 PM UTC Updated ago
Item 1 of 5 Prosecutor Emily Johnson questions rapper Kid Cudi as he testifies at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial in New York City, New York, U.S., May 22, 2025 in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg/File Photo
[1/5] Prosecutor Emily Johnson questions rapper Kid Cudi as he testifies at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial in New York City, New York, U.S., May 22, 2025 in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab
Summary
Combs faces life sentence if convicted on all counts
Prosecutors allege Combs used violence to control victims
Defense says “Freak Offs” were consensual
NEW YORK, June 30 (Reuters) – The jury in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial is expected to begin its deliberations on Monday, after hearing dueling narratives from prosecutors and defense lawyers last week about whether the music mogul forced his former girlfriends to take part in drug-fueled sexual performances.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian began delivering legal instructions to the jury in Manhattan federal court on Monday. Once the judge finishes, the 12-member jury will begin deliberating. There is no timeframe for deliberations, and any verdict must be unanimous.
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Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and two counts each of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. A former billionaire known for elevating hip-hop in American culture, Combs could be sentenced to life behind bars if convicted on all five counts.
Over more than six weeks of testimony, two of Combs’ former girlfriends – the rhythm and blues singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and a woman known in court by the pseudonym Jane – told jurors that he forced them to take part in the performances with paid male escorts, sometimes known as “Freak Offs,” while he watched, masturbated and occasionally filmed.
Both women testified that Combs beat them, and jurors saw a hotel surveillance video showing Combs attacking Ventura in a hallway in 2016.
“Cassie repeatedly told you that the defendant’s violence was in the back of her mind whenever he proposed a Freak Off,” prosecutor Christy Slavik said in her closing argument on Thursday. “The whole point was to control Cassie, to make her afraid to say no to the defendant. And it worked.”
Combs’ lawyers acknowledged that he was at times violent in domestic relationships, but argued that Ventura and Jane took part consensually in the performances. During cross-examination, the defense highlighted tender and sexually explicit text messages the women sent Combs over the course of their years-long relationships with him.
“If he was charged with domestic violence, we wouldn’t all be here,” defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo said during his closing argument on Friday. “He did not do the things he’s charged with.”
The founder of Bad Boy Records, Combs lived a lavish lifestyle in his Miami and Los Angeles mansions and was feted for turning artists like Notorious B.I.G. and Usher into stars.
He has been held in federal lockup in Brooklyn since his September 2024 arrest.
Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Alistair Bell and Mark Porter
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Thomson Reuters
Reports on the New York federal courts. Previously worked as a correspondent in Venezuela and Argentina.
Thomson Reuters
Legal correspondent specializing in politically charged cases.
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