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Male Escort Delivers Damning Testimony in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sex Trafficking Trial
In a New York courtroom, a male escort providing testimony in the Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sex trafficking trial offered a detailed account of how he allegedly received thousands of dollars from the hip-hop mogul for sexual encounters with his then-girlfriend, Casandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura. This trial focuses on accusations of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy against Combs, potentially impacting his legacy in the music industry.
Daniel Phillip’s Allegations Against Diddy
Graphic Details of Sexual Encounters
Daniel Phillip, 41, testified for an hour, claiming that Combs compensated him up to $6,000 per session to engage in orchestrated sexual acts with R&B artist Cassie Ventura. Phillip alleged that Diddy frequently directed these encounters, compelling them to participate in uncomfortable “role play.”
Combs’ Instructions and Control
The male escort stated that Combs typically instructed him to apply baby oil to Cassie’s body and engage in sexual activity while the rapper performed a sex act on a nearby chair. In one instance, Combs purportedly told Mr. Phillip to ejaculate inside Cassie, noting that they seldom used condoms.
Doubts and Abuse Allegations
Phillip said he “pretended” to reach climax, after which Combs repeatedly questioned him to ensure he had ejaculated inside her. He also asserted witnessing Combs physically abusing Cassie on multiple occasions and claimed the music executive once provided him with MDMA, according to court reports.
Broader Allegations Against Combs
Drug-Fueled Parties and Criminal Enterprise
Mr. Phillip’s deposition followed previous testimonies describing how Combs, 55, coerced women into participating in drug-influenced sex parties that lasted for days, all while being filmed. Prosecutors stated that Combs operated a “criminal enterprise” centered on trafficking victims for decades, with his “inner circle” aiding in concealing his offenses.
Violence and Coercion
Allegations include Combs stomping on a girlfriend’s head, dangling a woman from a balcony, and purportedly attempting to set another man’s car on fire. Jurors were informed that the musician and entrepreneur “viciously attacked” women who refused to participate in the sex parties, known as “Freak Offs,” or otherwise displeased him.
Defense Acknowledges “Horrible” Conduct
In a significant admission, Combs’s legal team informed the court that he had physically assaulted some of his girlfriends but maintained his innocence on the sex trafficking charges. They admitted his behavior was “kinky” and “horrible, dehumanizing, and violent,” but attributed it to jealousy and excessive drug use.
Specific Incidents Described by Phillip
The First Encounter and Subsequent Events
Phillip, the second witness to provide evidence, described in explicit detail his involvement in “Freak Off” parties with Cassie and Diddy, which could last up to ten hours. He claimed to have first met Combs and Ms. Ventura in 2012 when asked to perform a striptease at a bachelorette party in Manhattan’s Gramercy Park Hotel.
Details from Phillip’s Testimony:
- He expected to meet a group of women but was instead greeted by Cassie, who requested that he have sex with her.
- Combs was reportedly sitting in the corner with his face obscured by a bandana, but Phillip recognized the rapper’s voice.
- Cassie allegedly assured Phillip that Combs was “not gay” and that the rapper would not touch him.
Allegedly, that initial encounter marked the beginning of numerous events over the next two years, until early 2014, during which Mr. Phillips said he was frequently requested to engage in sexual interactions with Ms. Ventura as Diddy watched, both privately and as part of the rapper’s “Freak Off” parties.
Videotaping and Explicit Acts
The escort testified that Combs repeatedly videotaped him engaging in sexual activity with Cassie using both a cellphone and a camcorder. He provided graphic details of the sexual acts he was asked to perform.
He mentioned that Ms. Ventura once asked him to urinate on her, and the rapper once directed them through a role-playing scenario. “We were not very good at that at all,” he said. The court heard that Combs would occasionally switch positions with Phillip to engage in sexual intercourse with Ms. Ventura.
Instances of Alleged Abuse
Mr Phillip recalled another instance when Combs had called Ms Ventura from another room – but when she told him to wait a second, Combs came out and Mr Phillip says he saw a liquor bottle fly past her.
Diddy was alleged to have hit Cassie before grabbing her by the hair and dragging her out of the room.
Details of the Alleged Abuse:
- Mr Phillip said: ‘She was screaming, and he pulled her into the bedroom. I could hear what sounded like him slapping her. She was screaming, ‘I’m sorry! I’m sorry!’
- Mr Phillip added Combs said to Ms Ventura: ‘B****, when I tell you to come, you come now. Not later.’
- The escort alleged that in one incident at the Jumeriah Essex House Hotel in New York, he heard slapping and screaming sounds coming from a closed bedroom.
Cassie later exited crying and sought comfort from Mr Phillip, kissing and hugging him without instruction, which the escort said she had never done before.
He claimed to have asked her why she was staying in the ‘abusive relationship’ with Combs, only for her to say she was ‘OK’. Mr Phillip went on to allege that Combs later came back into the room to watch them have sex.
Threats and Drug Offers
Mr. Phillip also informed the court that he felt threatened by Diddy.
Even though Diddy never physically assaulted him, Mr. Phillip said the rapper once photographed his driver’s license and stated it was “just for insurance, just in case.”
“I understood it to be he was threatening me,” Mr. Phillip told the court.
The escort added he was offered MDMA, also known as ‘ecstasy’ or ‘molly’, by Combs – but was not forced to take it.
Combs’ Past and Legal Battles
From Music Mogul to Legal Turmoil
Combs, once valued at nearly $1 billion, had a series of hits on his Bad Boy Records label in the 1990s. But later, he was arrested – months after Cassie sued him for sexual assault in a civil case.
Impact of the Hotel Video
Combs’s downfall was accelerated by the release of a video showing him assaulting Ms. Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel corridor in 2016.
The video, initially broadcast by CNN, was played in full during the trial, and Ms. Ventura is expected to testify. Combs denies all charges, including racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking.
Prosecutor’s Opening Statement
Prosecutor Emily Johnson stated that the trial would include testimony from victims who would describe “some of the most painful experiences of their lives” in hotel rooms while under the influence of drugs.
She stated Manhattan Federal Court: ‘This is Sean Combs. To the public, he was Puff Daddy or Diddy, a cultural icon, a businessman, larger than life. But there was another side to him, a side that ran a criminal enterprise.
‘During this trial, you are going to hear about 20 years of the defendant’s crimes. But he didn’t do it alone, he had an inner circle of bodyguards and high-ranking employees who helped him commit crimes and helped him cover them up.
‘Kidnapping, arson, drugs, sex crimes, bribery and obstruction. These are just some of the crimes the defendant and his inner circle committed again and again. You’re going to hear about all of them during this trial.’
Prosecutors described a horrific claim made by Ms Ventura, who said she was left ‘feeling like she was choking’ when Combs allegedly made an escort urinate in her mouth during a ‘Freak Off’.
Ms. Johnson also told the court about an incident where the rapper was ‘on the hunt’ for Ms. Ventura because she was seeing another man.
The prosecutor said: ‘When he finally found her, he did what he had done countless times before: he beat her brutally. Kicking her in the back and flinging her around like a rag doll. All of that violence was not enough though.
‘The defendant had to make sure he had control over Cassie once again so he threatened her. The defendant told Cassie that if she defied him again, he’d publicly release the video of her having sex with a male escort he kept as blackmail. Souvenirs of the most humiliating nights of her life.’
Defense Argument
Love, Jealousy, and Money
Combs’s lawyer Teny Geragos argued that prosecutors were attempting to twist the star’s personal relationships into a racketeering and sex trafficking case.
‘Sean Combs is a complicated man, but this is not a complicated case. This case is about love, jealousy, infidelity and money,’ she said in her opening statement.
Ms. Geragos accused the alleged victims of filing lawsuits against Combs as a ‘money grab’.
‘Ask yourself why are they making this allegation now? What is their motive? For many of them, the answer is simple: money,’ she told jurors.
Other Witness Testimonies and Trial Proceedings
Security Guard’s Account
The prosecution’s first witness was Los Angeles police officer Israel Florez, who was a security guard at the InterContinental Hotel in LA in 2016 when the CCTV footage of the assault on Ms. Ventura was recorded.
He testified that he was called to assist a “woman in distress” on the sixth floor, where he discovered Cassie huddled in a corner, covering her face, while Combs was slouched in a chair wearing only a towel with a “devilish” expression on his face.
‘She was scared,’ Mr Florez added. ‘She was in the corner, hood on, covered up. I couldn’t see her face, she was pretty much in the corner.’
Mr Florez also told the court he used his phone to film the assault video from the hotel security monitor to show his wife.
‘If I had told my wife what had happened, she wouldn’t have believed me,’ he said.
Family Presence and Jury Selection
Six of Combs’s children and his mother Janice were present during the hearing, showing support for the rapper. The jury selection process proved challenging.
Over the course of the two-month trial, jurors are expected to hear testimony from three or possibly four of the rapper’s female accusers, as well as former employees who prosecutors say helped to arrange and cover up his actions.
Just selecting the jury caused a headache after the prosecution and defence both struck out a string of potential jurors.
Combs’s lead counsel, Marc Agnifilo, claimed that the prosecution’s veto of potential jurors was discriminatory because seven out of the nine people they rejected were black.
But Judge Arun Subramanian rejected the claim, saying prosecutor Maurene Comey had given ‘race-neutral reasons’ to explain each rejection.
About 150 potential jurors were vetted before the final 18 were selected, including six reserves. They will remain anonymous, but include an investment analyst, a massage therapist, a scientist, an architect and a United Nations worker.
Combs’ Background and Influence
Born in New York and raised by a single mother, Combs rose to prominence, living in mansions and hosting extravagant parties. He played a role in launching the careers of artists such as Mary J Blige, Mariah Carey, and Jennifer Lopez.
The trial continues, with ongoing testimonies and evidence presentation.