Jurors can see video of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs beating Cassie at lodge in 2016, choose guidelines – Firstpost

Prosecutors at Sean “Diddy” Combs ’ upcoming federal intercourse trafficking trial can present jurors video of the hip-hop mogul hitting and kicking one in every of his accusers in a Los Angeles lodge hallway, a choose dominated at a listening to Friday.

U.S. District Decide Arun Subramanian mentioned Combs’ attorneys did not persuade him that the explosive safety digital camera footage ought to be excluded. Its relevance to the case outweighs any potential prejudice to the 55-year-old defendant, the choose mentioned.

Subramanian dominated on the video as he set floor guidelines for the Could 5 trial in New York Metropolis.

Combs sat between his attorneys in a yellow jail swimsuit, his previously jet black hair now virtually totally grey as a result of dye isn’t allowed on the Brooklyn federal lockup the place he’s been held since his arrest final September.

Prosecutors disclosed that Combs was provided a plea deal, which he rejected.

The video reveals Combs — sporting solely a white towel — punching, shoving and dragging his former protege and girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie, and throwing a vase in her path on March 5, 2016, on the InterContinental Lodge in Los Angeles’ Century Metropolis district.

The video wasn’t public till CNN obtained and aired it in Could 2024. The community turned the footage over to prosecutors in response to a subpoena.

Prosecutors say it’s “important to the case.”

Combs’ indictment alleges he tried to bribe a lodge safety staffer to remain mum in regards to the video. Cassie, in a since-settled November 2023 lawsuit alleging years of abuse, claimed he paid $50,000 for the footage.

The Related Press doesn’t usually identify individuals who say they’ve been sexually abused until they arrive ahead publicly, as Cassie, whose authorized identify is Casandra Ventura, did.

Combs has pleaded not responsible to racketeering conspiracy and intercourse trafficking prices alleging he coerced and abused girls for years with assist from a community of associates and workers whereas silencing victims by way of blackmail and violence, together with kidnapping, arson and bodily beatings.

Federal prosecutors allege the Unhealthy Boy Data founder used his “energy and status” as a music star to induce feminine victims into drugged-up, elaborately produced sexual performances with male intercourse employees in occasions dubbed “freak offs.”

Earlier this month, prosecutors obtained a brand new indictment that added two prices to Combs’ case and accused him of utilizing power, fraud or coercion to compel a girl to interact in business intercourse acts from a minimum of 2021 to 2024.

Prosecutors say they count on 4 accusers to testify in opposition to Combs.

They contend the assault on Cassie depicted within the 2016 video occurred throughout a “freak off.” Combs’ attorneys have argued that the footage was nothing greater than a “glimpse into a fancy however decade-long consensual relationship.”

Combs apologized after CNN aired the footage, saying in a social media video assertion that he was “actually sorry” and that his actions had been “inexcusable.”

“I take full accountability for my actions,” Combs mentioned, including that he “was disgusted then after I did it. I’m disgusted now.”

In looking for to exclude the video from the trial, Combs’ lawyer Marc Agnifilo argued that the footage was “misleading and never in accordance with the actions that happened.”

Agnifilo mentioned sure parts of the video had been sped up by as a lot as 50% or taken out of order, making it a “deceptive piece of proof.”

Prosecutors advised Subramanian that they had been working with Combs’ attorneys to provide you with an appropriate model that may be proven by jurors. They mentioned that features having a video knowledgeable overview the footage and decelerate the clips to replicate the velocity at which the occasion proven truly transpired.