Jurors will begin deliberating Sean “Diddy” Combs' sex trafficking case, weighing charges that could land the hip-hop mogul a life sentence.
After receiving legal instructions from federal Judge Arun Subramanian, the jury of eight men and four women will deliberate in private on Monday.
They will examine seven weeks of sometimes candid and emotional testimony from the rap, fashion and reality TV impresarios, including drug-fuelled sex marathons called “freaks” or “hotel nights”.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit racketeering, two counts of sex trafficking (related to two of his former girlfriends) and two counts of human trafficking for prostitution for allegedly arranging for sex workers to be transported across state lines.
In closing arguments last week, prosecutors and Combs' defense team made their final attempts to convince jurors to convict or acquit the Grammy Award-winning Bad Boy Records founder.
“The defendant used force, violence and fear to get what he wanted,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik.
“He thought his fame, wealth and power put him above the law.”
Defense attorney Mark Agnifilo countered: “This isn't about a crime. This is about money.”
He noted that one of Combs' criminal accusers has also filed a civil lawsuit against him.
A total of 34 witnesses testified, the main ones being Combs' ex-girlfriends Cassie (R&B singer, née Cassandra Ventura) and “Jane,” who testified under a pseudonym.
Both women said he frequently abused them and forced them into hundreds of sexual encounters with paid men working in the sex industry.
Jurors also saw the infamous surveillance video of Combs beating, kicking and dragging Cassie at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016, as well as clips of sexual encounters.
Combs chose not to testify, and his lawyers did not call any witnesses in his defense.
Instead, his lawyers chose to challenge the credibility of the accusers' testimony during a lengthy cross-examination.
The defense acknowledged that Combs was violent, but his lawyers argue the sex was consensual.
They claim prosecutors are interfering in Combs' personal life and that he has done nothing to justify the charges against him.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
