Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sex Crime Trial: A jury of 12 New Yorkers Wednesday declared Sean “Diddy” Combs guilty on two counts and not guilty on three charges in the federal sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial that the hip-hop star had been facing for two months.
BBC reported how the tainted star “fell to his knees” and “buried his head” in a chair at the defence table inside the wood-panelled courtroom as the jury reached their verdict and their foreperson handed the sheet to the court deputy who handed it back for them to read out their decision.
The jury found Combs “not guilty” of the severe charges of sex-trafficking his former girlfriends and running a criminal enterprise with employees, but guilty on two charges of transportating two individuals to engage in prostitution.
The trial began on May 12, and over 30 witnesses testified over these seven-odd weeks. Here is a look at some key moments from the trial.
Key Moments From Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sex Crime Trial
1. Singer Casandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura’s Testimony Recorded Over 4 Days
A heavily pregnant Casandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura, who dated Combs on and off between 2007 and 2018 and was a key witness in the trial, testified over four days in May. Sharing graphic details about sexual encounters, the singer alleged that Combs physically abused her during their relationship and also “coerced and blackmailed her into participating in drug-fueled sex marathons with male escorts, referred to as ‘freak-offs'”, as reported by the media. She said Combs orchestrated and directed these “freak-offs”, which he “watched, masturbated to and sometimes filmed”.
She told jurors that Combs would threaten to release the explicit videos and harm her career if she defied him. According to Ventura, she broke up with Combs in 2018 but he raped her afterwards. Combs’s attorneys claimed she was a consenting participant in the “freak-offs”, presenting text messages that appeared to show she spoke positively about the sexual encounters.
Another of Combs’s ex-girlfriends, a woman who testified under pseudonym “Jane”, also told the court that she was coerced into participating in the ‘freak-offs’. ‘Jane’ dated Combs from 2021 to 2024, until his arrest that year. Much of her testimony was similar to Ventura’s.
2. Kid Cudi & Kanye West As Witnesses
As reported by the media, Rapper Kid Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi and who briefly dated Ventura in 2011, testified in the second week of the trial that Sean Combs broke into his home after learning about their relationship. Weeks later, Cudi’s car was firebombed, which he suspects was orchestrated by Combs. The hip hop mogul and his legal team strongly denied the allegation.
Meanwhile, Kanye West (Ye) made a brief appearance at the courthouse on June 13 to show support for Combs. He was directed to an overflow room but left shortly after, exiting through the main entrance before being seen driving away. Interestingly, during the closing arguments, Ye released a song titled “Diddy Free” with one of Combs’s sons.
3. Former Employees’ Testimony
A former personal assistant to Sean Combs, testifying under the pseudonym “Mia”, told jurors that she endured multiple instances of sexual and physical assault during her time working for him. She described the attacks as “random”, “sporadic”, and “so oddly spaced out” that she kept believing each time would be the last. Mia said she felt “trapped” in the situation and feared retaliation if she spoke out.
In a separate testimony, former Combs employee Capricorn Clark claimed that on the morning of the alleged break-in at Kid Cudi’s home, Combs “kidnapped” her at gunpoint. She said he forced her to accompany him to Cudi’s residence, telling her he intended “to kill” the rapper.
4. Jurors Shown ‘Freak-Off’ VIdeos, One Of Them Dismissed
Jurors were shown clips of the infamous “freak-offs”. Due to the explicit content, only the jurors, attorneys, and Sean Combs himself viewed the footage privately through headphones, while reporters and the public were barred. The videos, which ran several minutes, elicited little visible reaction from the jury.
Separately, on June 17, a juror was dismissed over conflicting residency claims. Identified as Juror 6, he initially said he lived in the Bronx but later told court staff he resided in New Jersey. Judge Arun Subramanian, who was overseeing the case, noted concerns, suggesting the juror may have misled the court to stay on the panel. Combs’s legal team had opposed the dismissal of Juror 6, one of the only two Black men on the jury, but he was replaced by an alternate juror, a white man from Westchester, New York, The Guardian reported.
5. Judge Warned Combs He Would Be Removed From Court If…
On June 5, Judge Subramanian noted that she saw Combs “nodding vigorously” while looking at the jury during the cross-examination of witness Bryana Bongolan, Ventura’s friend and former graphic designer for Combs. He warned that Combs would be removed from his court if he continued to interact with the jury.
