Six people accuse Diddy of sexual assault in new lawsuits, including a man who was 16 at the time

NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs was hit Monday with a new wave of lawsuits accusing him of raping women, sexually assaulting men and molesting a 16-year-old boy. It is the first time he has been sued by someone who claims he was abused as a minor.

At least six lawsuits have been filed against Combs in federal court in Manhattan, adding to a growing list of legal claims against the indicted hip-hop mogul, all of which he has denied. The lawsuits were filed anonymously to protect the identities of the plaintiffs, two identified by women as Jane Does and four identified by men as John Does.

GRAPHIC WARNING: Details of the alleged acts are disturbing.

Some of the Does, echoing others who have accused Combs in recent months, allege that he used his fame and the promise of potential stardom to lure victims to lavish parties or drug-fueled hangouts, where he then attacked them. Some claim he beat or drugged them. Others say he threatened to kill them if they didn’t do what he wanted or speak out against him.

The lawsuits detail alleged assaults dating back to the mid-1990s, including at Combs’ celebrity-studded white parties in the Hamptons of Long Island, at a Brooklyn party honoring Combs’ then-collaborator Biggie Smalls, and even in the warehouse space of Macy’s flagship department store. in downtown Manhattan.

The plaintiffs in Monday’s lawsuits are part of what their attorneys say is a group of more than 100 plaintiffs pursuing legal action against Combs following his Sept. 16 arrest on federal sex trafficking charges. The plaintiffs’ attorney, Tony Buzbee, announced the planned trial at an Oct. 1 news conference and posted a 1-800 number for plaintiffs to call.

In a statement, Combs’ attorneys described these tactics as “clear attempts to garner publicity” and said the rapper and his legal team “have full confidence in the facts, their legal defense and the integrity of the judicial process.” In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted anyone – adult or minor, male or female.”

Combs, 54, has pleaded not guilty in his criminal case, which involves allegations that he coerced and abused women for years with the help of a network of associates and associates while silencing victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping , arson and physical abuse.

The Bad Boy Records founder was twice denied bail and remains locked up in a federal prison in Brooklyn awaiting trial in May. Two judges have concluded that Combs would be a danger to the community if released. On Friday, an appeals court judge denied Combs’ immediate release from jail while a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals weighs his bail request.

Before Monday’s series of lawsuits, all of the plaintiffs charging Combs were adults at the time of their alleged abuse, although a Chicago record producer claimed in a February lawsuit that he had “irrefutable evidence” that Combs sexually abused minors.

In a lawsuit Monday, a John Doe alleged that Combs fondled his genitals when he was 16 at one of Combs’ white parties in 1998. The man, who now lives in North Carolina, claims Combs told him he had “the looks.” of a star and abruptly ordered the then-teenager to drop his pants.

According to the man’s lawsuit, Combs explained to him that becoming a music star was a rite of passage, at one point asking him, “Don’t you want to break into the business?” The man said he complied out of fear, anxiety and a power imbalance he felt with Combs, and only later realized that what he said happened was sexual abuse.

Other lawsuits filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan include allegations of rape, forced oral sex and drugging to incapacitate victims.

One of the Jane Does claims that Combs raped her in a locked hotel room in 2004 after he invited her and a friend there to a party, gave them drinks and told them to snort cocaine. The woman, then a college freshman, claims Combs also forced her boyfriend to perform oral sex on him and threatened their lives if they didn’t comply.

Another Jane Doe alleged that Combs violently assaulted and raped her in a bathroom at a Brooklyn party in 1995 for Smalls’ music video, “One More Chance.” Smalls, also known as the Notorious BIG, was killed two years later in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles.

According to the woman, Combs took her to the bathroom to talk privately and unexpectedly started kissing her. When she tried to pull away, she claims, he hit her head against the wall, causing her to fall to the floor. She said she tried to escape, but Combs hit her again and raped her.

Afterwards, according to the woman, Combs casually adjusted his clothes and told her, “You better not tell anyone about this or you’ll disappear.”

The other John Doe lawsuits allege: Combs sexually assaulted a security guard at a white party in 2006 after giving him a drugged drink; forced a man working for a rival fashion brand to perform oral sex on him in the Macy’s warehouse in 2008; and sexually assaulted a man at a party in October 2021.

The last man, who suspects a drugged drink left him unable to fight back, remembers several men attacking him and clearly remembers seeing Combs standing naked above him at some point during the attack, according to his court case.

___

Associated Press journalists Andrew Dalton and Jonathan Landrum Jr. in Los Angeles contributed to this report. ___

This story has been corrected to show that the party Biggie Smalls celebrated took place in 1995 and not 2005, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.