Jury begins deliberating in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sex trafficking trial
The jury of eight men and four women headed behind closed doors to deliberate on Monday.
Jurors have begun deliberating in Sean “Diddy” Combs’s sex trafficking case, weighing charges that could put the hip-hop mogul in prison for life.
After receiving legal instructions from federal Judge Arun Subramanian, the jury of eight men and four women headed behind closed doors to deliberate on Monday.
They will sift through seven weeks of sometimes graphic and emotional testimony about the rap, fashion and reality TV impresario, including drug-fuelled sex marathons dubbed “freak-offs” or “hotel nights”.
Jurors are being provided with a laptop loaded with all of the exhibits shown in court, including text messages, photographs and videos of the sexual encounters at the heart of the case.
As he sent the jury to deliberate, Judge Subramanian told the five alternate jurors to remain on standby in case they are needed to fill in on the main jury.
About 10 minutes into deliberations, the jury sent a note indicating they had completed their first order of business: electing a foreperson.
Combs, 55, faced his family and supporters, who are in the courtroom gallery, all who were bowing their heads in prayer — his family members holding hands with each other.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking — relating to two of his ex-girlfriends — and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution for allegedly arranging to fly sex workers across state lines.
In closing arguments last week, prosecutors and Combs’s defence team took their last shots at convincing jurors to convict or acquit the Grammy Award-winning founder of Bad Boy Records.
“The defendant used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted,” assistant US attorney Christy Slavik said.
“He thought that his fame, wealth and power put him above the law.”
Defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo countered: “This isn’t about crime. It’s about money.”
He noted that one of Combs’s accusers in the criminal case also sued him in civil court.
In all, 34 witnesses gave evidence, headlined by Combs’s former girlfriends Cassie — the R&B singer born Casandra Ventura — and “Jane” who gave evidence under a pseudonym.
Both women said he often was violent towards them and forced them into hundreds of sexual encounters with paid male sex workers.
Jurors also saw now-infamous security camera video of Combs beating, kicking and dragging Cassie at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016 and clips from videos of sexual encounters.
Combs chose not to give evidence, and his lawyers did not call any witnesses in their defence case.
His lawyers elected instead to challenge the accusers’ credibility during lengthy cross-examination questioning.
The defence has acknowledged that Combs veered into violence, but his lawyers maintain that the sex acts were consensual.
They contend that prosecutors are intruding in Combs’s personal life and that he has done nothing to warrant the charges against him.
