American rapper and producer Sean “Diddy” Combs has made a surprising decision in the sex trafficking case that is currently targeting him. Incarcerated since last September, he has just given up his appeal to obtain release on bail.
© Backgrid USA/Bestimage ean « Diddy » Combs and Justin Bieber perform at the BET-SOS Saving Ourselves Help for Haiti benefit concert at the American Airlines Arena on February 5, 2010.
QUICK FACTS
- Sean Combs, 54, is charged with pimping and sex trafficking following a complaint by Cassie Ventura in 2023, and has been incarcerated since September 2024.
- Combs has waived his request for bail after repeated denials, agreeing to remain in custody until his trial in May 2025.
- Sean Combs' trial, marked by charges of witness tampering, promises to be explosive and is highly anticipated in May 2025.
Sean Combs, 54, is a major figure in rap and hip-hop. But in recent months, it is mainly for his legal troubles that he has been making headlines. Arrested in September 2024, he is accused of pimping, sex trafficking and incitement to prostitution following a complaint filed by his ex-partner Cassie Ventura in late 2023.
Combs throws in the towel for his request for release on bail
Incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his arrest, P. Diddy had already seen his three requests for release on bail rejected by the courts. His lawyers have just filed a motion to drop the current appeal.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000In this document signed by the rapper, it is specified: “Mr. Combs does not seek to appeal the district court's denial of his renewed request and hereby requests to voluntarily drop the appeal.” A decision that confirms his continued detention until his trial scheduled for May 2025.
Suspicions of witness tampering
At the last hearing on November 27, 2024, Judge Arun Subramanian justified his refusal to release Combs on bail by stating that there was “evidence of a serious risk of witness tampering“. According to him, the rapper had contacted witnesses even after his testimony before the grand jury in June 2024.
Another disturbing element is a new complaint filed this week and also targeting Jay-Z. A woman claims to have been raped by the two stars in 2000, when she was only 13 years old. Serious accusations that Jay-Z has firmly denied, denouncing an attempt at blackmail by the plaintiffs' lawyer.
A highly anticipated trial in May 2025
Deprived of bail, P. Diddy will therefore have to remain behind bars until the opening of his trial in 5 months. The judge has however authorized that a computer be provided to him 7 days a week from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. so that he can prepare his defense.
At the heart of the debates, the accusations made by his ex-partner Cassie Ventura, who claims to have been drugged and sexually assaulted by the rapper. A complaint that led to a series of other similar testimonies and triggered the investigation for pimping. Case at follow, therefore, for a trial which already promises to be explosive.