Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Arrested After Grand Jury Indictment

Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested in Manhattan late Monday after a grand jury indicted the hip-hop mogul, authorities said. The arrest follows International Security raids on the Bad Boy founder’s homes in late March, apparently triggered by a spate of sexual abuse lawsuits against him.

Last November, Combs’ ex-girlfriend, R&B singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, filed an explosive sex-trafficking and abuse lawsuit against him that made global headlines. He reached a private settlement with her a day later, but the legal ramifications mounted. Since then, eight other women and one man have come forward to sue Combs with allegations ranging from sex trafficking to sexual assault.

The exact charges Combs now faces were not disclosed Monday night, but the prosecution is being led by the Southern District of New York, which confirmed the news. “Federal agents this evening arrested Sean Combs, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY,” Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District, said in a statement. “We expect to make a motion to open the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.”

After the arrest, Combs’ attorney said he was “disappointed” by the SDNY’s decision to pursue what he called “an unfair pursuit.” “Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, doting on his children and working to uplift the community Black. He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal,” Agnifilo said in a statement. “To his credit, Mr. Combs has been uncooperative with this investigation and voluntarily moved to New York last week pending these charges. Please reserve judgment until you have all the facts. These are the papers of an innocent man who has nothing to hide and looks forward to clearing his name in court.”

The attorney representing accusers Liza Gardner, Rodney (Lil Rod) Jones and April Lampros in their separate sexual assault lawsuits filed against Combs said Rolling Stone he was not surprised by the indictment. “The long-awaited arrest of Sean Combs is the first step in getting justice for our clients,” attorney Tyrone Blackburn said after the indictment was announced. “We leave the criminal aspect of this case in the hands of the people and the justice system. In civil cases, we bide our time for the facts to unfold and seek the justice our clients deserve. We also anticipate more casualties to come. I knew this was coming. The evidence is very clear and it was only a matter of time. This is an important step toward justice for all of Mr. Combs’ victims, including my clients.”

In early July, NBC News reported that a grand jury was hearing evidence related to the criminal investigation. Federal agents executed a search warrant on Combs’ homes on March 25, raiding his properties in Los Angeles and Miami, seizing Combs’ phones after officials stopped him at Miami-Opa Locka Airport. Another Combs attorney, Aaron Dyer, called the raids a “gross excessive use of force at the military level” and a “witch hunt based on meritless allegations made in civil lawsuits.”

In May, Rolling Stone released its six-month investigation into the mogul, revealing a previously unreported allegation of violence against a woman on Howard’s campus, new details about alleged physical abuse and allegations that Combs sexually harassed a freelancer at a party in 2001. More people who spoke Rolling Stone described Combs as a serial predator who used his fame, fortune, industry status and reputation as a fun-loving party host to hide a volatile temper and disturbing, narcissistic behavior for decades.

Combs’ fall from grace began with Ventura’s lawsuit, in which she alleged Combs routinely physically assaulted her and forced her to have drug-fueled sex with male sex workers during arrangements she he called them “crazy” throughout their 10-year relationship. She also detailed a 2016 physical assault at a Los Angeles hotel after a mishap, which was later confirmed by unearthed hotel surveillance video showing Combs chasing a fleeing Ventura. He is seen throwing her to the ground and kicking her before trying to drag her away. He later throws a glass vase in her direction. Although Combs’ attorney previously called Ventura’s 35-page lawsuit “full of baseless and outrageous lies,” Combs apologized after the video surfaced, saying he was at “rock bottom” and that looks “very sorry” for his behavior in disturbing footage. In response, Ventura’s lawyers called Combs’ mea culpa “pathetic.”

In the wake of Ventura’s lawsuit — just as New York’s Adult Survivors Act was set to expire — two more women stepped forward before Thanksgiving with equally troubling claims against Combs. Joi Dickerson-Neal alleged that Combs drugged and sexually assaulted her when she was a student at Syracuse University in 1991. The woman alleged that Combs filmed the incident and showed others the video in an act described as “pornographic revenge”. Through a representative, Combs denied the allegation. “This last minute lawsuit is an example of how a well-intentioned law can be overturned. (This) 32-year-old story is made up and not credible… This is simply a money grab and nothing more,” the spokesperson said.

The second woman, Gardner, alleged that she was 16 when Combs and songwriter Aaron Hall took turns raping her following an Uptown Records event in 1990. She also alleged that a day later, Combs became “enraged and started aggressing and suffocating”. her until she almost “passed out” because he was worried she might divulge what happened. “These are fabricated claims falsely alleging wrongdoing from over 30 years ago and filed at the last minute,” a Combs spokesman said of Gardner’s lawsuit. “This is nothing but a money grab.”

In early December, a fourth accuser alleged that Combs’ former Bad Boy president Harve Pierre and a third man raped her at Combs’ recording studio in New York in 2003 when she was 17. In February, music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones sued Combs for sexual assault, harassment and failure to compensate him for work on the Grammy-nominated film. The love album. On May 21, model Crystal McKinney became the sixth person to sue Combs in a span of six months. She alleged that Combs drugged her and forced her to perform oral sex with him at his New York recording studio in 2003. In early July, former Hustler’s Club dancer Adria English claims that Combs sex-trafficked her at his legendary “white parties” when she supposedly was. they are expected to engage in sexual activities with guests.

And a week before Combs’ arrest, former Danity Kane member Dawn Richard sued Combs, corroborating Ventura’s claims of physical abuse, alleging that Combs repeatedly groped and sexually harassed her, as well as threatened his life.

Combs has denied any wrongdoing in each case. However, he stepped down as chairman of his media company Revolt TV and sold his stake in the company as more than a dozen companies fled his e-commerce platform. In January, liquor giant Diageo let him go in a private settlement in which Combs will no longer be a joint owner of the DeLeón tequila brand and will no longer have ties to Cîroc vodka.