Sean “Diddy” Combs made his first court appearance Thursday since his arrest on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The rapper-turned-music mogul, 54, was joined by his mother, Janice Combs — who recently condemned his “public lynching” — and four of his seven children: sons Justin, 30, and Christian “King,” 26, as well as twin daughters Jessie and D’Lila, 17.
Janice, 84, was heckled as she made her way into Manhattan federal court, while the crowd urged Jessie and D’Lila — who entered the courthouse holding hands — to “stick together,” according to the Daily Mail.
Per The Post, Diddy — clad in tan jail clothes — entered the courtroom through a side door.
He flashed a smile and waved to King, who was sitting in the second row of the gallery, before hugging each of his attorneys.
Judge Arun Subramanian set his trial date for May 5.
Last week, Janice, Jessie and D’Lila visited the Bad Boy Records founder at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he is being held without bail.
Earlier this week, Diddy’s defense team filed a third appeal for pretrial release, citing alleged insufficient evidence for detention and alleged legal errors in the court’s decision.
Prosecutors expressed concern that the the hip-hop star would intimidate witnesses and obstruct the case if he were to be let out of jail; they also suggested he is a flight risk given his wealth and access to private planes.
Diddy was arrested last month and pleaded not guilty.
According to the indictment, federal agents discovered more than 1,000 bottles of lubricant, various narcotics and three AR-15s when they raided his Los Angeles and Miami mansions in March.
Prosecutors claimed Diddy “abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct” for decades, “creating a criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in … sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.”
Per the indictment, the Grammy winner and members of his Combs Enterprise allegedly facilitated multiple “Freak Offs”: drug-fueled sex gatherings.
During these events, Diddy allegedly “hit, kicked, threw objects at and dragged victims, at times, by their hair,” according to the indictment, which further claimed that he “subjected victims to physical, emotional and verbal abuse to cause the victims to engage in Freak Offs,” which he “often electronically recorded.”
The alleged assaults “often resulted in injuries that took days or weeks to heal,” per prosecutors.
If convicted, he faces a minimum of 15 years in prison.
Read the full article here
