Diddy’s future looks ‘bleak’ and defense will paint rapper as ‘sex freak’ not a criminal, former prosecutor predicts

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. open image in gallery Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs could be looking at least 15 years in prison, a former prosecutor warns, after he was charged with three federal felonies Although prosecutors did not provide extremely specific details about their evidence in the indictment, Honig said the allegations they’ve made in the indictment, letter to the judge requesting Combs remain jailed and U.S. attorney’s press conference indicate the prosecution has “valuable” backing. open image in gallery Elie Honig, a CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor, said the case against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has a ‘bleak’ outlook “Racketeering charges are a cheat code of sorts for prosecutors,” Honig said. Federal prosecutors allege Combs used those around him to create a “criminal enterprise” that continuously enabled his alleged criminal behavior – like coercing women to participate in his so-called “Freak Offs.” Combs’ lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, asserts that his client is an “innocent man with nothing to hide.” During the arraignment, Agnifilo indicated that the charges brought against Combs stemmed from nothing more than a consensual but strained relationship due to infidelity. He was ordered to remain in jail until his trial begins Although the case is in its early stages and nowhere near trial-ready, Honig said he can “already see the defense taking shape… ‘He’s a sex freak, but he’s not a criminal.’” He warned that it “won’t be pretty” if Combs’s team crafts that argument because they would be shifting the blame to the women and excusing his behavior as perverted but legal.