New York (AFP) – Music mogul Sean Combs is facing a batch of new lawsuits including one alleging he molested a minor, the legal team behind the filings announced Monday. The federal civil complaints filed in Manhattan were filed anonymously, two by women named as Jane Does and four by men identified as John Does. The allegations in them against the now-54-year-old rapper known as “Diddy” span from 1995 until 2021, lawyers said.
They are part of a massive wave of suits promised by lawyers including Texas attorney Tony Buzbee, who said earlier this month that more than 100 alleged victims were planning legal action against Combs, who was arrested on federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges last month. “We expect to be filing many more cases over the next several weeks naming Mr. Combs and others as defendants as we continue to gather evidence and prepare the filings,” Buzbee said in a statement Monday.
In the new suits, one accuser says Combs sexually assaulted him when he was 16, fondling his genitals in 1998 in the Hamptons just outside of New York City, at one of Combs’s infamous white parties. At the time, Combs had insisted to the teenage boy that allowing such behavior was part of what it took to break into the music world, allegedly asking him: “Don’t you want to break into the business?”
The new lurid lawsuits – filed pursuant to the Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act in New York City – are the latest chapter in the stunning downfall of Combs. Combs was already facing a laundry list of similar civil suits before federal authorities arrested him on three criminal counts, alleging he sexually abused women and coerced them into drug-fueled sex parties using threats and violence, all with help from a network of employees and associates.
Judges have denied him bail, as prosecutors voice concerns of witness tampering. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. His criminal trial is currently slated to begin May 5, 2025. Prosecutors have indicated there is still more evidence to explore and that more charges could be added to the indictment against Combs.
Public allegations have been building against the Grammy winner since late last year, when singer Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, alleged Combs subjected her to more than a decade of coercion by physical force and drugs as well as a 2018 rape.
© 2024 AFP
