Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has been arrested in New York on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. It follows the raids by US Homeland Security on property owned by the musician back in March, which in turned followed the filing of numerous lawsuits accusing Combs of sexual harassment and assault.
Damian Williams, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, confirmed the arrest yesterday, stating, “Earlier this evening, federal agents arrested Sean Combs, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY”. That indictment was then unsealed earlier today making public the charges being pursued by the prosecution.
Combs has denied all the allegations made against him in the civil lawsuits and, earlier today, his lawyer Marc Agnifilo formally responded to the indictment, stating, “he's innocent of these charges, he’s going to plead not guilty, obviously. He’s going to fight this with all of his energy and all of his might. I expect a long battle with a good result for Mr Combs”.
In an earlier statement before the specific charges had been revealed, Agnifilo said he was “disappointed” that New York prosecutors had decided to "pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution", but that his client “looks forward to clearing his name in court”.
“Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man, and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children, and working to uplift the black community”, the attorney added. “He is an imperfect person but he is not a criminal”.
Agnifilo was also keen to stress that Combs “has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts”.
Yet another lawsuit was filed against Combs last week by Danity Kane member Dawn Richard. That legal filing also made claims regarding Combs’ alleged abuse of his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura, which Kane said she regularly witnessed. Ventura filed her own lawsuit against Combs last year, though that was the one he quickly settled.