Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs To Learn Fate About Remaining Behind Bars

Sean “Diddy” Combs will appear in Manhatten federal court again Wednesday as his legal team appeals the judge’s decision to keep him jailed while he awaits his sex trafficking trial.

Combs, 54, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges following his arrest at the Park Hyatt New York hotel on Monday.

He is being held at the less-than-lavish Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, which has previously been a temporary home for other celeb criminals, including R. Kelly, Michael Cohen, Allison Mack, and Ghislaine Maxwell.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky judge denied his request to be released on a $50 million bond, stating she has “very significant concerns” about his substance abuse and “what appears to be anger issues.”

Following Tarnofsky’s decision, Combs’ attorney Marc Agnifilo told reporters outside the courthouse that his team would appeal it in a hearing set for Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.

Agnifilo alleged that Combs arrived in NYC on September 5 and came to the city “to turn himself in” but law enforcement had other plans.

“The government didn’t want him to turn himself in because then they can ask for detention, so they go and they arrest him,” Agnifilo said, adding Combs was doing “fine” because he is “a fighter.”

“This was a 10-year relationship,” he said, presumably about R&B singer Cassie Ventura. “There’s no coercion, there’s no crime. This is basically someone who brought a civil case and now is finding themselves as a witness in a criminal case. We’re going to fight this case with everything we have, as is he, and eventually, he’s going to be shown to be innocent.”

If convicted, Combs’ one count of racketeering conspiracy carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. One count of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.

The transportation for purposes of prostitution charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The Context

Combs’ arrest comes nearly six months after federal authorities conducted a sex trafficking investigation raid on his Miami and Los Angeles homes. Combs has also been the subject of 10 civil lawsuits concerning sexual abuse, misconduct, and sex trafficking.

His headline-grabbing legal troubles began in November when Combs and his former girlfriend, R&B singer Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura, quickly settled a lawsuit in which she alleged sexual and physical abuse.

In May, CNN released elevator security footage of Combs physically assaulting Cassie in a hotel in 2016.

An unsealed indictment released on Tuesday alleges Combs forced victims into sex acts he called “Freak Offs.” Federal prosecutors claim Combs used “used force” to “cause victims to engage in extended sex acts with male commercial sex workers that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during and often electronically recorded.”

Law enforcement agents seized various “Freak Off” supplies, including narcotics and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, during the raids on Combs’ homes in March, US Attorney Damian Williams announced Tuesday.

They also recovered electronic devices containing photos and videos of the “Freak Offs,” as well as three AR-15 rifles, ammunition, and a large-capacity drum magazine.

The indictment states Combs’ alleged criminal activity dates back 16 years ago when he allegedly committed racketeering starting in 2008. He reportedly started sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution in 2009.

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