Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ tried to block new evidence from his alleged “freak offs” before his upcoming trial for sex trafficking.
Leading up to Combs’ trial, Judge Arun Subramanian ruled to allow new sex-trafficking evidence related to the freak offs, according to court documents obtained by People. Judge Subramanian also noted that forced labor allegations related to one of Combs’ employees would not be permitted after his lawyers called out prosecutors for adding “new theories” and “new evidence” without giving the defense enough notice or time to respond.
The Friday, April 25, ruling was in response to a letter from Combs’ defense team that referenced “a mountain of new allegations” filed at 11:15 p.m. on April 20, which was 78 days after the court’s deadline and 15 days before the trial begins.
“It is impossible for the defense to investigate and respond to those new allegations in the next two weeks,” read the letter from Combs’ lawyers, alleging that prosecutors have “explicitly conceded” that “many” of the alleged acts “were consensual,” causing the defense to focus on alleged coerced incidents.
The letter continued by stating that prosecutors “could have and should have” included the allegations in a previous letter. Combs’ legal team requested he be granted a continuance to give him “sufficient time” to respond to the new allegations.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, replied with their own letter on Friday that argued that the defense had time to respond to discovery in the freak off claims.
“The defendant’s letter motion is a transparent attempt to narrow the scope of the proof against him at trial by any means necessary, and to yet again make a last-ditch effort to secure an adjournment of trial,” prosecutors noted.
In the lengthy indictment released last year, the “freak offs” were described as “elaborate and produced sex performances.”
Combs, 55, is currently in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center awaiting his trial, which begins with juror selection on May 5. The music mogul was originally arrested on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution in September 2024.
Diddy pleaded not guilty after his arrest but was denied bail. He faces up to life in prison if convicted. Prosecutors previously alleged in their indictment that Diddy “abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct.”
“Combs relied on the employees, resources and influence of the multifaceted business empire that he led and controlled — creating a criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in, and attempted to engage in, among other crimes, sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice,” the indictment alleged about the accusations, some of which date back to 2009.
Diddy’s attorney Marc Agnifilo denied the accusations at the time.
“We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Agnifilo told Us after the arrest. “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, adoring his children and working to uplift the Black community.”
Agnifilo added: “He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal. To his credit, Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
Ahead of his trial, Diddy has been named in dozens of lawsuits where he has been accused of sexual assault. His legal team has denied all the allegations against him.
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