Diddy arrested in New York

NEW YORK — Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested late Monday in New York. He faces a secret indictment, prosecutors said late Monday.

Details of the charges were not immediately released by prosecutors, but the hip-hop mogul has faced a barrage of allegations of sexual assault from women in recent months.

U.S. Attorney in Manhattan Damian Williams said in a statement that federal agents had arrested Combs. “We expect to release the indictment tomorrow morning and will have more to say then.”

What Combs’ lawyer says

Combs’ attorney, Marc Agnifilo, issued a statement saying: “We are disappointed by the U.S. Attorney’s decision to pursue what we believe is an unjustified prosecution of Mr. Combs.”

He added that Combs traveled to New York last week to await arraignment.

“He is an imperfect human being, but he is not a criminal,” Agnifilo said.

Combs was arrested in the lobby of a Manhattan hotel and is in federal custody, said a person familiar with the arrest who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The criminal complaint represents a serious but not unexpected attack on one of the most significant producers and famous names in hip-hop history.

Previous searches in LA and Miami

The federal investigation into Combs, 58, came to light when Department of Homeland Security agents simultaneously executed search warrants and raided Combs’ mansions in Los Angeles and Miami on March 25.

His defense attorney, Aaron Dyer, called the raids the day after the attack “a gross use of military force,” said the allegations were “baseless” and said Combs was “innocent and will continue to fight” to clear his name.

Combs, then known as Puff Daddy, was at the center of hip-hop’s East Coast-West Coast battle in the 1990s as a partner and producer of the Notorious BIG, who was shot in 1997. But like many who survived that era, his public image had mellowed with age. Today, he is a genteel party promoter in Hollywood and the Hamptons, a fashion-conscious businessman and a loving father who spoils his children, some of whom lost their mothers in 2018.

But a different picture emerged in November when his former protégé and girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie, became the first of several people to sue him for sexual abuse, alleging a steady stream of sex workers in drug-fueled environments where some of those involved were coerced or persuaded to have sex.

About Cassie’s lawsuit and other allegations

In her November lawsuit, Cassie alleged that she was abused for years, including being beaten and raped. Her lawsuit also alleged that Combs engaged in sex trafficking by “forcing her to perform coercive sexual acts in multiple jurisdictions” and “harboring and transporting plaintiff for the purposes of sex induced by force, fraud or coercion.”

It also says that he forced her to help him traffic male sex workers, with whom Combs then wanted Cassie to have sex while he was filming.

The case was settled the next day, but its aftermath would last much longer. Combs lost his last allies, supporters and those who were yet to pass judgment when CNN aired a leaked video in May of him punching, kicking and throwing Cassie to the ground in a Century City hotel hallway.

The next day, in a social media video, Combs posted his first real admission of wrongdoing since the flood of allegations began, apologizing: “I was disgusted when I did it” and “I’m still disgusted now.” Cassie’s lawsuit was followed by at least a half dozen more in the months that followed.

In February, a music producer filed a lawsuit accusing Combs of forcing him to solicit prostitutes and pressuring him to have sex with them.

Another of Combs’ accusers was a woman who claimed the rap producer raped her two decades ago when she was 17.

April Lampros, another woman who filed the lawsuit, said she met Combs as a college student in 1994 and had a series of “terrifying sexual encounters” with Combs and those around him that lasted for years.

What happens next?

Combs and his lawyers denied almost all of the allegations in the lawsuit.

Although authorities did not publicly state that the complaints marked the beginning of a criminal investigation, Dyer stated in serving the warrants that the case was based on “baseless allegations in civil litigation.”

The AP typically does not name people who report sexual abuse unless they come forward publicly, as was the case with Cassie and Lampros.

As founder of Bad Boy Records, Combs became one of the most influential hip-hop producers and managers of the past three decades. In addition to Notorious BIG, he has worked with a number of high-profile artists, including Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil Kim, Faith Evans and 112.

When the allegations emerged, Combs’ role in his business ventures outside of music – including lucrative private label liquor, a media company and the Sean John clothing line – took a major blow.

The consequences were even more severe when the leaked video of the beating surfaced. Howard University cut ties with him and he returned his key to the City of New York at the mayor’s request.

Copyright: NPR