By MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — The jury at Sean “Diddy” Combs ’ sex trafficking trial viewed more video recordings on Monday of the sex marathons that have played a prominent role in a prosecution that was likely to rest by Tuesday.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey sometimes referred to the mostly 1- or 2-minute clips filmed by the music mogul as “explicit” videos, a signal for jurors to put on headsets that enabled them to hear and view the recordings without them being heard or seen by spectators in the Manhattan courtroom.
Prosecutors have cited the drug-fueled multi-day events as evidence of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges, saying Combs relied on employees, associates and his business accounts to fly male sex workers to Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New York, where his staff set up hotel rooms for the encounters and cleaned up afterward.
Last week, prosecutors showed jurors about 2 minutes of the footage from 2012 and 2014 involving Combs’ then-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, a male sex worker and Combs. Cassie earlier testified that she participated in hundreds of the “freak-off” events. She and Combs were in a relationship from 2007 until 2018.
Cassie sued Combs in 2023 alleging years of abuse. He settled within hours, and dozens of similar lawsuits followed.
The Associated Press doesn’t generally identify people who say they are victims of sexual abuse unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie has done.
Defense lawyers last week showed the jury about 18 minutes of video clips from the sex performances involving Cassie after a lawyer said in opening statements that the videos prove sexual activity was consensual and not evidence of a crime.
On Monday, prosecutors aired nearly 20 minutes of recordings from 2021 and 2022 of a single mother who was identified only by the pseudonym “Jane,” male sex workers and Combs. Jane testified for six days earlier in the trial that she was romantically involved with Combs from 2021 until his September arrest at a New York hotel room.
Joseph Cerciello, a Homeland Security Investigations agent, testified that dozens of the recordings from late 2021 until last August lasted many hours. Comey finished questioning Cerciello in the early afternoon Monday. After a cross-examination by the defense, the prosecution was expected to rest.
The trial is in its seventh week, with closing arguments tentatively scheduled for Thursday after what was expected to be a brief defense presentation.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty. He’s been active in his defense, writing notes to his attorneys and sometimes influencing when they stop questioning witnesses.
