What to know about Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ indictment
Associated PressSean “Diddy” Combs, the disgraced hip-hop mogul, faces federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges in an indictment that was unsealed Tuesday. He is accused of “verbal, emotional, physical and sexual” abuse and that he “hit, kicked, threw objects at, and dragged victims, at times, by their hair” in assaults that took “days or weeks to heal.” In a large focus of the indictment, investigators said Combs orchestrated sexual encounters between his victims and male sex workers that he called “Freak Offs” — defined in the indictment as “elaborate and produced sex performances that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded.” According to authorities, these encounters sometimes lasted for days and often involved multiple commercial sex workers, with Combs drugging the participants to “keep the victims obedient and compliant.” The raids of Combs’ Los Angeles and Miami homes resulted in the seizure of supplies for the “Freak Offs,” including drugs and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, prosecutors said. “He used his business and employees of that business and other close associates to get his way.” Williams also said Combs’ employees were involved in organizing and arranging the “Freak Offs,” often supplying materials, cleaning hotel rooms after the encounters and helping to cover up the assaults. Combs intimidated victims to stay silent, prosecutors say Combs carried or brandished firearms to “intimidate or threaten others,” including victims and witnesses of his assaults, according to the indictment. Officials also said Combs used recordings of the “Freak Offs” to keep the victims from coming forward.