Jury Selection Begins in Diddy Trial

The sex trafficking trial of Sean Combs is underway in New York with jury selection.

Combs has pleaded not guilty to several charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. The indictment against him is 17 pages long and alleges that Combs engaged in a pattern of abusive behavior against women and others over a 20 year period. Prosecutors allege that women were drugged and manipulated into sexual performances with the promise that he would boost their entertainment careers. They say when Combs didn’t get what he wanted, he resorted to violence: beatings, kidnapping, and arson.

Combs has a documented history of violence, which is likely to be brought up at trial. In 1999, he was charged with beating an Interscope Records executive with a champagne bottle and a chair. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and took an anger management class.

Also in 1999, he fled a nightclub with his then-girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez, where three people were shot. Combs was acquitted of all charges, but a member of his entourage was convicted and spent nearly nine years in prison.

In 2015, Combs was charged with assaulting someone with a kettlebell at a Los Angeles gym, though prosecutors ended up dropping the case.

In 2023, the singer Cassie sued Combs alleging he had subjected her to years of abuse. Security camera footage from 2016 showed him assaulting her in a Los Angeles hotel.

Combs is also known by his stage names Diddy, P. Diddy, and Puff Daddy. He is credited with the discovery and development of artists Mary J. Blige, Usher, and the Notorious B.I.G.

Jury selection is supposed to last several days. Opening statements and testimony are expected to begin next week. The trial is expected to last eight weeks.