Sean “Diddy” Combs carried guns “to intimidate and threaten” his victims and those who witnessed his depraved abuse, a sex-trafficking indictment against the hip-hop mogul alleged Tuesday.
The music producer, 54, is accused of brandishing the firearms while overseeing a criminal empire that allowed him to coerce and abuse a slew of women for more than a decade, according to the indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court.
When the feds raided his Miami and Los Angeles mansions roughly six months ago as part of the long-running probe, they seized three AR-15s with “defaced serial numbers”, as well as other guns, ammunition and a drum magazine, the filing alleges.
‘Diddy’ is accused of forcing women to have sex with male prostitutes. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
‘Diddy’ is accused of using guns, kidnapping, and arson to control victims. Getty ImagesCombs, who has been hit with sex trafficking and racketeering charges, also had his security staff carry weapons as he and his associates wielded his “power and prestige” to “intimidate, threaten, and lure” women into his orbit, the court papers say.
The fallen rapper would then allegedly choke, hit and kick the women – causing injuries that could sometimes take weeks to heal.
Combs’ staff sometimes witnessed his “violence toward victims”, or saw their injuries but did nothing to intervene, the court papers say.
Combs was spotted hanging out in Central Park the day before his arrest. / SWNSHe and his associates – dubbed the “Combs Enterprise” – would often try to stop victims from leaving his home or hotel rooms in the wake of the alleged attacks, prosecutors said.
They would force the women to remain in hiding for days at a time to keep their injuries hidden from the public, according to the indictment.
Combs also had his security staff carry weapons.
In the instances where the women did manage to leave, Combs would have his associates track them down, the complaint states.
They also attempted to bribe and pressure his victims into silence — or would feed them a “false narrative of events in order to conceal Combs’ crimes” — as threat of charges loomed, court papers say.
When the feds raided his homes in Miami and Los Angeles, they found three AR-15s with “defaced serial numbers,” other guns, ammunition, and a drum magazine, the indictment alleges.
The charges come after Combs was hit with several lawsuits over the past year by victims who allege he subjected them to physical or sexual abuse during the height of his fame as a producer in the 1990s and 2000s.
His former girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie Ventura, was the first to publicly accuse him of a years-long pattern of domestic and sexual violence when she filed a federal lawsuit against him last November that was later settled.
Combs, who was set to appear before a Manhattan federal court judge Tuesday, has long denied the accusations against him.
His lawyer said he would plead not guilty to the charges.
