The rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs has been found guilty on two of the five charges levelled against him.
A verdict was reached on Wednesday after a New York jury reached a unanimous decision on all five charges.
Combs, 55, had been charged with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He denied all charges.
The charge of racketeering conspiracy was the final one on which a verdict was reached. He was found not guilty.
He was also found not guilty of the sex trafficking of Cassie Ventura – but he was found guilty of the transportation for prostitution of Ventura and others.
Diddy was found not guilty of sex trafficking of another woman, known as “Jane” – but he was found guilty of the transportation for prostitution of “Jane” and others.
Some 34 witnesses gave testimony during the near-two-month-long trial, including ex-girlfriends, former employees of Combs, male escorts and federal agents.
Jurors had been shown footage of the former billionaire rapper kicking and dragging Ventura in the hallway of an InterContinental hotel in Los Angeles – where she said she was trying to leave a so-called “Freak Off” – a term for sexual encounters with his girlfriends and male escorts.
A security guard at the hotel had told the court that Combs paid him $100,000 (£74,000) to hand over what he believed to be the only copy of the surveillance tape of his attack on Ventura.
Meanwhile, Scott Mescudi, the rapper known as Kid Cudi, told the court that “Diddy” was likely involved in an arson attack on his car after discovering he was romantically involved with Ventura.
Both Ventura and “Jane” had testified that he threatened to withhold financial support and to leak sexually explicit images of them if they refused to comply.
“The defendant used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted,” prosecutor Christy Slavik said in her closing argument on June 26.
“He doesn’t take no for an answer.”
More to follow…
