Gerrard Kaonga
Sean Combs, popularily known as Diddy, has pleaded not guilty to a new indictment that he has been hit with.
In the new indictment, Combs has been accused of forcing employees to work long hours and threatened to punish those who did not assist in his alleged sex trafficking scheme.
Diddy was indicted by a grand jury following his arrest at the Park Hyatt hotel in Manhattan back in September. He has remained in police custody since then.
On Friday, Combs was hit with this new indictment to add to the lengthy charges the hip-hop mogul faces.
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Combs has been charged with racketeering and sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion charges he's continued to deny.
Regarding these charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, Combs has already pleaded not guilty.
This indictment accused Combs and others in his enterprise of 'wield[ing] the power and prestige of Combs' role at the Combs Business to intimidate, threaten and lure female victims into Combs' orbit, often under the pretence of a romantic relationship'.
Regarding the new indictment, Combs entered his plea before the US district judge Arun Subramanian at a hearing in Manhattan federal court.
The new indictment has not added any new charges, but described what prosecutors would call ‘forced labor’.
It said Combs and his associates ‘maintained control’ over some employees by forcing them to work long hours with little sleep, through the use of or threats to use physical force, financial harm, psychological harm and reputational harm.
Last month, Combs lawyer surprised people when he announced that he would be stepping down from representing the music mogul.
In a motion for withdrawing as a representative the February 20 filing read in part: “On September 22, 2024, I was retained by the defendant, Sean Combs, to serve as his counsel, and I have served as his counsel since that time.
It went on: "For the reasons set forth below, this motion for withdrawal is filed so that Sean Combs may move forward with his defense and to commence jury selection and trial without any delay."
He added: "Although I have provided Sean Combs with the high level of legal representation expected by the court, under no circumstances can I continue to effectively serve as counsel for Sean Combs, consistent with the ABA Standards for Criminal Justice."
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org