Hip-hop titan Sean “Diddy” Combs is scheduled to stand trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges in May next year.
The 54-year-old artist, who is also known as Puff Daddy and P Diddy, blew kisses to his mother and children during the court proceedings after a federal judge in Manhattan established the trial date on Thursday.
Combs entered a not guilty plea on September 17 to a three-count indictment that accuses him of exploiting his business empire, including his record label Bad Boy Entertainment, to transport male and female sex workers across state borders for recorded sexual performances referred to as “freak offs.”
If found guilty on the three charges—racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to facilitate prostitution—he could face a prison sentence of up to life and a minimum of 15 years.
During his third court appearance following his arrest in September, Combs was informed that his trial will commence on May 5.
Prosecutor Emily Johnson indicated that the prosecution’s presentation at trial would take no less than three weeks.
The defence is expected to take around one week, according to his attorney Marc Agnifilo.
The hip-hop mogul has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his arrest.
He appeared in court on Thursday dressed in a tan prison outfit before being escorted out through a side entrance by US Marshals.
The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals, located in Manhattan, denied his petition for immediate release from incarceration while he contests a judge’s prior ruling to deny bail.
A panel of three judges from the 2nd Circuit will review that appeal at a later date.
Regarding the allegations he faces, prosecutors assert that Combs lured women by providing them with drugs like ketamine and ecstasy, offering financial assistance, or promising career opportunities or romantic involvement.
Combs is then purported to have used secret recordings of these sexual encounters as “collateral” to guarantee the women’s silence, sometimes brandishing weapons to intimidate victims and witnesses, according to prosecutors.
The indictment does not allege that Combs directly engaged in non-consensual sexual contact with women, although he has been accused of physically assaulting them.
Mr. Agnifilo characterized the sexual interactions depicted by prosecutors as consensual.
In a court document submitted Wednesday evening, Mr. Agnifilo requested the judge to impose a “gag order” that would prevent prosecutors and federal agents from sharing evidence with the media.
He cited what he claimed were unlawful leaks, including a video depicting Combs striking and dragging a woman in 2016.
During the hearing, Ms. Johnson described the request as an attempt to “suppress a damaging piece of evidence.”
She affirmed that prosecutors would adhere to their obligation not to disclose confidential evidence to the press but argued that the defence should be held to the same standard.
Ms. Johnson expressed concern regarding Mr. Agnifilo’s comments in a September interview with entertainment news source TMZ, labeling the case as a “takedown of a successful black man.”
She claimed that such remarks insinuated the government was “conducting a racist prosecution.”
“Statements of this nature pose a serious threat to the fairness of this trial,” Ms. Johnson stated.
