New York, Sep 18 (AP) Sean “Diddy” Combs presided over a sordid empire of sexual crimes, coercing and abusing women for years while using blackmail and shocking acts of violence to keep his victims in line, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday. Combs pleaded not guilty after showing little reaction, his uncuffed hands folded in his lap, as a magistrate read through the allegations. In court papers, prosecutors called the music mogul “dangerous” and urged that he be jailed without bail, citing guns found at his home and what they said were attempts to intimidate witnesses.
His lawyers, meanwhile, proposed in court papers that he be released on a USD 50 million bond to home detention with electronic monitoring. The racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking indictment described Combs inducing female victims and male sex workers into drugged-up, sometimes dayslong sexual performances dubbed “Freak Offs." It also refers obliquely to an attack on his former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, that was captured on video.
He's accused of striking, punching and dragging women, throwing objects and kicking them — and getting his personal assistants, security and household staff to help him hide it all. “The evidence in this case is incredibly powerful,” prosecutors said in a document seeking Combs' detention. They said they had interviewed over 50 victims and witnesses and expect the number to grow and would use financial, travel and billing records, electronic .