Just a year ago, he was walking the Red Carpet of the Met Gala. This Monday, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs appeared before a new York Federal Court, accused of having led a sprawling network of sexual exploitation, drugs and violence behind the appearances of show business.
The trial of the legend of hip-hop began its first stage with the selection of the jury at the Federal Court of Manhattan. The 54 -year -old artist is charged for sexual trafficking, kidnapping, corruption, transport for prostitution and violence, as part of a structured criminal business, under the terms of the accusation act. The procedure should last between eight and ten weeks, the pleadings being scheduled for May 12.
“Freak-offs” with orchestrated nightmares
judge Arun Subramanian interviewed a first group of potential jurors, launching them: “Come, don’t be shy”, in the introduction of a 14 -page questionnaire aimed at assessing their objectivity in a case with complex ramifications. At the end of this first session, 19 jurors were retained, and new interviews are scheduled for Tuesday.
According to the accusation, Sean Combs forced his collaborators to drug victims before submitting them to long sex with sex workers. These scenes called “freak-offs” have sometimes been filmed without their knowledge. Prosecutors describe an organized, violent and humiliating system, using the fame and the power of the accused to force his victims.
The fallen star claims his innocence
Behind the walls of the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) where he has been incarcerated for eight months, the former badge Boy records is proclaimed his innocence. He refused a plea-guilty agreement, the conditions of which have not been made public. His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, speaks of a “swinging lifestyle” and sexual relations always granted.
-P. Diddy was authorized by the judge to appear in civilian clothes, and not in prisoner. During preliminary hearings, the artist appeared marked by the months of detention in a prison criticized for his unsanitary conditions and his violence.
A shock wave in the music industry
This major trial comes when more than a hundred accusations of sexual violence – emanating from women and men – also weighs against him in civil justice. Among the most anticipated witnesses is Cassie, R&B singer and former companion of the accused, including a video revealed by CNN last year shows a violent assault by Sean Combs in a hotel in Los Angeles, in 2016.
Our file on the P. Diddy case
For Caroline Heldman, co -founder of the Sound Off Coalition, this trial is a turning point: “I hope he will encourage other victims to manifest himself”. According to her, the world of music remains one of the rare bastions spared by the #MeToo wave, with the notable exception of R. Kelly, sentenced in 2022 to 30 years in prison. “Celebrity gives a feeling of impunity and destroys empathy,” continues Caroline Heldman, denouncing a culture of silence deeply rooted in the music industry.
