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"title": "Sean 'Diddy' Combs trafficked at least three women, prosecutors say",
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"contents": "<div class=\"font-knowledge bold1 flex-col color-gray-17 f6 line-height-1-5\"><div class=\"flex tw-max-w-[356px]\"></div></div><div><div class=\"mb20\"><div data-qa-component=\"story-content-collapsable\"><div class=\"mh-auto overflow-hidden mh-none--print\" data-qa-component=\"collapsable-content\"><div class=\"font-knowledge regular line-height-1-5 text-story color-black f6 pt16 pb20 border-bottom border-gray-22 story-copy\" dir=\"auto\" data-qa-component=\"item-story\" data-rc-highlight=\"story\"><div class=\"tr-summaryinfo\"><ul><li class=\"tr-summaryitem\">New indictment expands accusations, no new charges</li><li class=\"tr-summaryitem\">Prosecutors say hip-hop mogul abused women, employees</li><li class=\"tr-summaryitem\">Combs has pleaded not guilty, faces May 5 trial</li></ul></div><p class=\"tr-by\">By Luc Cohen</p><p>The three-count indictment contains no additional charges, but alleges he transported three female victims and commercial sex workers across state lines and internationally. Combs' <a class=\"bold1 mr5 tr-link tr-pnac tr-link-story-internal\" href=\"https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3KZ0EH&linkedFromStory=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">original indictment</a> last September identified just one female victim.</p><p>Combs, 55, pleaded not guilty to the first indictment, and prosecutors asked that he be arraigned again. His trial is scheduled for May 5 in Manhattan federal court.</p><p>\"Mr. Combs is as committed as ever to fighting these charges and winning at trial,\" Combs' lawyer Marc Agnifilo said in a statement.</p><p>The indictment charges Combs with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.</p><p>Prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office said Combs used his business empire, including his record label Bad Boy Entertainment, to sexually abuse women.</p><p>Combs' alleged abuse included having women take part in recorded sexual performances called \"freak offs\" with male sex workers who were sometimes transported across state lines.</p><p>The new indictment alleges Combs abused his employees, and those who witnessed him commit acts of violence.</p><p>Prosecutors also said Combs enticed women with drugs such as ketamine and ecstasy, financial support, and promises of career support or romantic relationships.</p><p>The indictment added methamphetamine and psychedelic mushrooms to the list of illegal drugs Combs and his associates allegedly distributed.</p><p>None of the alleged victims was identified by name.</p><p>One victim is Combs' former girlfriend Casandra Ventura, an R&B singer known as Cassie.</p><p>She accused him in a civil lawsuit of serial physical abuse, sexual slavery and rape, but settled one day after suing. Combs denied her allegations.</p><p>In a March 2016 incident that resembles Cassie's description of an alleged attack, prosecutors said Combs was captured on a hotel security video striking and dragging a woman trying to leave a freak off.</p><p>Combs apologized last May after CNN broadcast the video, and his lawyer Marc Agnifilo has said the video was not evidence of sex trafficking.</p><p>\"It's our defense to these charges that this was a toxic, loving 11-year relationship,\" Agnifilo said in a Nov. 27 hearing.</p><p>Agnifilo has also said the freak offs were consensual sexual activity.</p><p>Combs has been detained at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center since his arrest in September.</p><p>Also known during his career as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, Combs founded Bad Boy Records and is credited with helping turn rappers and R&B singers such as Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, Notorious B.I.G. and Usher into stars in the 1990s and 2000s.</p><p>His career has been derailed since federal agents raided his Los Angeles and Miami Beach, Florida, homes in early 2024.</p><p>The indictment said authorities found drugs and 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant for use in the freak offs.</p><p>Combs also faces dozens of civil lawsuits by women and men who accused him of sexual assault and other misconduct. He has denied all wrongdoing.</p><p> </p><p class=\"tr-signoff\">(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Daniel Wallis)</p></div></div></div></div></div>",
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"summary": "In a twist that's more scandalous than a reality TV show, hip-hop mogul Sean Combs, aka Puff Daddy, faces a new indictment accusing him of using his entertainment empire for a sordid spree of sex trafficking and abuse, as he prepares to battle it out in court come May.",
"introduction": "<ul><li>New indictment against hip-hop mogul Sean Combs expands on previous accusations without adding new charges.</li><li>Prosecutors allege Combs abused women and employees, using his business empire to facilitate sexual exploitation.</li><li>Combs has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for trial on May 5, maintaining his innocence through his lawyer.</li><li>The indictment includes claims of drug distribution and incidents of violence, with numerous civil lawsuits pending against Combs.</li></ul>",
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Diddy performs at O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in a special one night only event at O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire on November 07, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein/Getty Images for Sean Diddy Combs) 