Sean 'Diddy' Combs pleads not guilty to new charges
Sean 'Diddy' Combs has pleaded not guilty to two new charges of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution
Sean 'Diddy' Combs has pleaded not guilty to two new sex crime charges.
The 55-year-old rapper was previously charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution, and a new indictment made public by prosecutors earlier this month showed he has also been charged with one additional count each of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, which relate to a plaintiff identified as Victim-2.
And during a hearing in Manhattan on Monday (14.04.25), the Bad Boy Records founder pleaded not guilty to the new charges, with his legal team now having until Wednesday (16.04.25) to ask for additional time for discovery, which could delay the trial.
His attorney, Marc Agnifilo, said defense would likely request a "very short" two-week pause due to concerns over discovery, as he claimed prosecutors had failed to ask a witness to submit 200,000 of her emails and instead allowed her to provide just what she thought was relevant.
According to a letter obtained by People magazine, the lawyer asked Judge Arun Subramanian on Friday (11.04.25) for permission to question potential jurors - who are due to be selected on 5 May - about "central issues at the heart of the case," including their "connection to drug and alcohol abuse, their connection to domestic violence, their willingness to watch videos with physical assault and videos that are sexually explicit, and their views towards people with multiple sexual partners."
The attorney noted the trial is related to sensitive and private content that many could feel "uncomfortable" talking about but may be more ""candid" in a questionnaire.
However, prosecutors argued any questionnaire should be concise and simply focus on "issues that relate to for-cause challenges rather than personal information that would only be relevant to peremptory challenges."
They added in court documents that a potentional form for would-be jurors should avoid "sensitive and personal topics, and should involve the simplest possible questions."
The new indictment alleges the 'I'll Be Missing You' hitmaker “recruited, enticed, harbored, transported, provided, obtained, advertised, maintained, patronized and solicited [Victim-2], and attempted, aided and abetted, and willfully caused [Victim-2], to engage in commercial sex acts, knowing and in reckless disregard of the fact that Victim-2 was engaging in commercial sex acts as a result of force, fraud, and coercion.”
Diddy's attorney's previously said: “These are not new allegations or new accusers. These are the same individuals, former long-term girlfriends, who were involved in consensual relationships.
"This was their private sex life, defined by consent, not coercion.”
A pretrial conference is scheduled for 18 April.
Diddy - who has pleaded not guilty to all the claims against him -is currently incarcerated at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center while awaiting trial.
