Diddy lawsuits: More people, including minor, come forward accusing hip-hop mogul of sexual assault
Another six people have come forward to accuse Sean "Diddy" Combs of sexual assault, adding to the already long list of lawsuits filed against the hip-hop mogul.
At least six additional lawsuits were filed against Combs, 54, in a Manhattan, New York, federal court on Monday. All were filed anonymously by two women and four men, all of whom were only identified as Jane Does and John Does.
Combs remained incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since he pleaded not guilty on Sept. 17 to federal charges.
RELATED: Sean 'Diddy' Combs has had history of legal troubles
Sean "Diddy" Combs attends Day 1 of 2023 Invest Fest at Georgia World Congress Center on August 26, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
What did the new lawsuits say?
One of the John Does, a man who lives in North Carolina, accused Combs of fondling his genitals when he was just 16 at one of the rapper’s famous white parties in Long Island’s Hamptons in 1998.
In another lawsuit filed by one of the Jane Does, Combs allegedly raped the woman in a locked hotel room in 2004 after he invited her and a friend there for a party. They were given drinks and they were instructed to snort cocaine.
The woman, who was a college freshman at the time, alleged that Combs then forced her and her friend to perform oral sex on him and that he threatened to kill them both if they did not comply.
The other Jane Doe alleges Combs violently attacked and raped her in a bathroom in 2005 at a party for the late rapper Biggie Smalls’ music video, "One More Chance."
According to the woman, Combs brought her into the bathroom to talk privately and then started kissing her unexpectedly. When she tried to pull away, she alleges, he slammed her head against the wall, causing her to fall to the floor. The woman said she tried to escape, but Combs hit her again and raped her.
Afterward, according to the woman, Combs nonchalantly adjusted his clothing and told her: "You better not tell anyone about this, or you will disappear."
In another John Doe lawsuit, a man working as a security guard at Combs’ Hamptons white party in 2006 alleges the star gave him an alcoholic beverage he came to believe was laced with a drug that made him feel extremely ill. The man alleges Combs then pushed him into a van, held him down and sexually assaulted him.
In the other lawsuits filed Monday, Combs is accused of forcing a man to perform oral sex on him in the stockroom of Macy’s flagship store in Manhattan’s Herald Square in 2008 and sexually assaulting a man at a party in October 2021. The latter man, who suspects a drugged beverage left him unable to fight back, recalls multiple men assaulting him and distinctly recalls seeing Combs above him, naked, at one point during the assault, his lawsuit said.
Trial date set for Sean 'Diddy' Combs
Sean "Diddy" Combs appeared in court on Thursday, where it was determined the disgraced music mogul will stand trial next spring. Judge Arun Subramanian scheduled Diddy's trial to begin on May 5. The prosecution expects the government's case to take three weeks, while Diddy's legal team estimated needing one week to argue the defense. Diddy's legal team is expected to receive the discovery material within the next 30 days, according to the prosecution. The government seized a total of 96 devices from Combs during raids of his homes — nine at the airport, 36 in Miami and 51 in Los Angeles. Authorities also seized Combs' phone during his Sept. 16 arrest and conducted a search of his hotel room in Manhattan. Neama Rahmani joins Andrew Craft to explore what's to come ahead of the spring trial.
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Latest on other lawsuits
The alleged victims in the six additional lawsuits filed on Monday are part of a group of more than 100 other alleged victims who are in the process of taking legal action against Combs in the wake of his sex trafficking arrest last month.
Houston attorney Tony Buzbee said he expects lawsuits to be filed within the next month, with most expected to be filed in New York and Los Angeles.
Buzbee described the victims as 60 males and 60 females, and that 25 were minors at the time of the alleged misconduct. One individual alleged he was 9 years old when he was abused, Buzbee said. The allegations cover a period from 1991 to this year.
"This type of sexual assault, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation should never happen in the United States or anywhere else. This should have never been allowed to go on for so long. This conduct has created a mass of individuals who are injured, scared and scarred," Buzbee said at a news conference.
Diddy denies allegations
Combs has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges alleging he coerced and abused women for years with help from a network of associates and employees while silencing victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings.
Combs’ lawyers have been trying unsuccessfully to get the Bad Boy Records founder freed on bail. He has been held at a Brooklyn federal jail since his Sept. 16 arrest.
Two judges have concluded that Combs would be a danger to the community if he is released from the Metropolitan Detention Center, a facility that has been plagued by violence and dysfunction for years. At a bail hearing three weeks ago, a judge rejected a proposed $50 million bail package, including home detention and electronic monitoring, after concluding Combs might tamper with witnesses and obstruct a continuing investigation.
On Friday, an appeals court judge denied Combs’ immediate release from jail while a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals weighs his bail request.