In a civil lawsuit filed in New York, Thalia Graves accuses Sean “Diddy” Combs of “brutally raping” her in 2001 at the studios of his production company Bad Boy Records in New York with the help of an accomplice.
According to the complaint, she was drugged and tied up by her two attackers, who also allegedly recorded the scene in a video that they circulated, accusations that echo those of the Manhattan federal prosecutor’s office last week, during the musician’s arrest.
American rapper P. Diddy arrested on sexual assault charges
“I’m glad he’s locked up, but it’s only a temporary relief,” Graves said at a news conference announcing her lawsuit at her attorney Gloria Allred’s office in Los Angeles.
“The pain you feel inside when you’ve been sexually assaulted is incredibly deep and difficult to express. It goes far beyond the physical injuries,” she said, saying she is still traumatized by the rape she suffered.
Targeted for several months by a dozen complaints for rape or sexual assault, Sean “Diddy” Combs, an influential figure in hip-hop, was arrested on September 16 in a Manhattan hotel and placed in pretrial detention. He pleaded not guilty to charges of trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and extortion.
American rapper P. Diddy remains in prison after being charged with sex trafficking
Federal prosecutor Damian Williams described a system based on “violence” to force women to have “long sexual relations with sex workers”, scenes that he “recorded” and during which the victims took substances such as ecstasy, GHB (the date rape drug) or ketamine.
According to the indictment, the rapper relied on his employees, “the resources and influence of the multi-faceted business empire he directed and controlled to create a criminal enterprise whose members engaged in … trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation, forced labor, kidnapping, obstruction of justice.”
