Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Sean 'Diddy' Combs Arrives in Court as He Seeks Delay to Sex Trafficking Trial
Reuters logo
By Reuters
Published 2 months ago on
April 18, 2025

Sean "Diddy" Combs stands as he is arraigned on a superseding indictment ahead of his May trial on sex trafficking charges, in New York, U.S., March 14, 2025, in this courtroom sketch. (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg?/File Photo)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs appeared in Manhattan federal court on Friday for a hearing over the hip-hop mogul’s bid to delay his upcoming sex trafficking trial by two months.

Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to five criminal counts including racketeering and sex trafficking. Prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office say Combs used his business empire to sexually abuse women between 2004 and 2024.

Combs’ Lawyer Describes Encounter as Consensual

Combs’ lawyers say the sexual activity described by prosecutors was consensual.

Jury selection for his trial is currently scheduled to start on May 5, with opening statements on May 12.

In a court filing on Wednesday, Combs’ lawyer Marc Agnifilo asked U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian to delay the trial because he needed more time to prepare his defense to new charges brought on April 4. Agnifilo also said the defense needed more time to review emails it wants an alleged victim to turn over.

Federal prosecutors are opposed to any delay, writing in a Thursday court filing that the additional charges brought earlier this month did not amount to substantially new conduct. They said Combs was not entitled to the alleged victim’s communications.

Subramanian is also weighing other evidentiary issues, such as whether to allow alleged victims to testify under pseudonyms.

Also known during his career as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, Combs founded Bad Boy Records and is credited with helping turn rappers and R&B singers such as Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, Notorious B.I.G. and Usher into stars in the 1990s and 2000s.

But prosecutors have said his success concealed a dark side. They say his alleged abuse included having women take part in recorded sexual performances called “freak offs” with male sex workers, who were sometimes transported across state lines.

Combs has been jailed in Brooklyn since September.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

UP NEXT

Military Parade Barrels Through Nation’s Capital With Tanks, Troops and 21-Gun Salute

Israel and Iran Bombard Each Other, Trump Says He Can ‘Easily’ End Conflict

4 hours ago

Trump Vetoed an Israeli Plan to Kill Iran’s Supreme Leader, US Officials Say

4 hours ago

Fresno Man Arrested in Fatal DUI Crash on Trimmer Springs Road

A man is dead and three others are injured following a rollover crash Saturday evening on Trimmer Springs Road that investigators say was ca...

2 hours ago

2 hours ago

Fresno Man Arrested in Fatal DUI Crash on Trimmer Springs Road

Mourners pray during the funeral of a Palestinian killed in what the Gaza health ministry says was Israeli fire near a distribution center in Rafah, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
2 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 41 People in Gaza, Medics Say

Bullet holes mark the front door of Minnesota state Senator John Hoffman, who was shot alongside his wife, Yvette, in what is believed to be an attack by 57-year-old suspect Vance Luther Boelter, who is also the lead suspect in the shooting deaths of senior Democratic state assemblywoman Melissa Hortman and her husband, Marc, in Champlin, Minnesota, U.S., June 14, 2025. REUTERS/Tim Evans
4 hours ago

Manhunt for Gunman Who Shot Two Minnesota Lawmakers Enters Second Day

Israelis take shelter at the side of a highway as siren sounds following missile attack from Iran on Israel, in central Israel June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Oren Ben Hakoon
4 hours ago

Israel and Iran Bombard Each Other, Trump Says He Can ‘Easily’ End Conflict

President Donald Trump speaks as he attends a military parade to commemorate the U.S. Army's 250th Birthday, on the day of his 79th birthday, in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 14, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
4 hours ago

Trump Vetoed an Israeli Plan to Kill Iran’s Supreme Leader, US Officials Say

6 hours ago

Newsom Wanted To Fast-Track the Delta Tunnel Project. The Legislature Slowed the Flow

7 hours ago

Five Weeknight Dishes: Seven Ingredients or Fewer, Because Summer

8 hours ago

Big Fresno Fair Unveils Second Wave of 2025 Concert Acts

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend