In yet another dramatic development in the court battle facing the rapper, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura is set to testify under her own name against her former partner at his trial.
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Cassie Ventura is set to testify under her own name against her former partner Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in his upcoming federal trial for sex trafficking and racketeering.
The 37-year-old singer and model is one of four alleged victims due to appear in court when the trial begins in New York on 5 May.
In a motion submitted by federal prosecutors, it was confirmed Cassie, initially referred to in court filings as ‘Victim-1’, will not remain anonymous during her testimony.
Combs, 55, faces five counts across three federal charges, including racketeering, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and denies any wrongdoing. In a new filing, prosecutors stated: “(Cassie) is prepared to testify under her own name. Victim-2, Victim-3, and Victim-4 have asked that their identities not be revealed to the press or the public.”
They added in the update: “This case has already received an exceptional amount of media coverage, which will presumably only increase as trial proceeds.
“Permitting these measures will prevent unnecessary public disclosure of the victims’ identities, and the harassment from the media and others, undue embarrassment, and other adverse consequences that would almost certainly follow if these women were forced to reveal their true names publicly at trial.”
Superstar rapper and music industry mogul Sean Combs was sued November 16 by the singer Cassie, who accused him of rape and physical abuse.The hip-hop artist -- also known as both Puff Daddy or Diddy -- subjected the R&B singer, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, to more than a decade of coercion by physical force and drugs as well as a 2018 rape, she said in her suit, filed in federal court in Manhattan.The suit says that Ventura met Combs in 2005, when she was 19 and he was 37.
Image: Jewel SAMAD AFP
Ventura was in a relationship with Combs from 2007 to 2018.
In November 2023, she filed a civil lawsuit against him, alleging multiple forms of abuse.
The case was settled out of court a day later, but the complaint opened the floodgates for further civil claims against Combs, including accusations of rape from both women and men.
Shortly afterwards, three of Combs’ properties were raided by the FBI, and he was arrested on 16 September.
He is currently being held without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. In May, CNN published security footage from the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles showing Combs allegedly assaulting Ventura.
In the video, Combs appears to kick and drag her while she waits for an elevator. His legal team accused CNN of manipulating the footage in a March 13 court filing, stating the video had been altered by removing the time stamp, changing the sequence and increasing the playback speed.
Prosecutors last week filed a revised indictment against Combs, introducing new charges of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution linked to a second alleged victim.
According to the new filing, Combs “recruited, enticed, harbored, transported, provided, obtained, advertised, maintained, patronised and solicited (Victim-2), and attempted, aided and abetted, and willfully caused (Victim-2) to engage in commercial sex acts, knowing and in reckless disregard of the fact that (Victim-2) was engaging in commercial sex acts as a result of force, fraud, and coercion.”
In a statement to "The Hollywood Reporter", Combs' legal representatives said: “These are not new allegations or new accusers. These are the same individuals, former long-term girlfriends, who were involved in consensual relationships.
"This was their private sex life, defined by consent, not coercion.”