Diddy charged with sex trafficking and organized crime | Read full indictment

NEW YORK CITY – Sean “Diddy” Combs appeared in court on Tuesday. He is accused of beating and abusing women for over a decade and running a sex crime empire.

The music mogul was “involved in a persistent and widespread pattern of abuse of women and other persons,” according to an indictment unsealed on Tuesday.

The indictment details allegations from 2008 that he abused, threatened and coerced women over the years “to satisfy his sexual desires, protect his reputation and cover up his behavior.”

Diddy indictment

He is accused of luring female victims and male sex workers into drugged sexual performances that sometimes lasted for days, which the indictment describes as “freak offs,” an oblique reference to a videotaped assault on his former girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie.

Why was Diddy arrested?

Combs was arrested late Monday in Manhattan, about six months after federal authorities raided his luxury homes in Los Angeles and Miami as part of a sex trafficking investigation.

Last year, Combs was sued by people who claimed he physically or sexually abused them.

He has denied many of the charges, and his attorney, Marc Agnifilo, said outside the courthouse Tuesday morning that Combs would plead not guilty and fight “to the death” to have his client released from custody.

Of Combs, Agnifilo said: “He's in good spirits. He's confident.”

Combs is accused in the indictment of repeatedly hitting, punching, dragging, throwing objects at and kicking women – and of instructing his personal assistants, security and domestic staff to cover it all up.

The “Freak Offs” were “elaborate and staged sex performances” that Combs “arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded,” the indictment says. It says he sometimes arranged for the women to be flown in and ensured their participation by obtaining and providing drugs, controlling their careers, using his financial support, and using intimidation and violence.

The incidents could last for several days, the indictment says.

During a search of Combs' homes in Miami and Los Angeles this year, officials seized narcotics and more than a thousand bottles of baby oil and lubricant, according to the indictment.

All of this, prosecutors allege, happened behind the facade of Combs' global music, lifestyle and clothing empire.

Combs, 54, was considered one of the most influential figures in hip-hop before a flood of allegations over the past year turned him into an outsider in the industry.

In November, Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, filed a lawsuit claiming he beat and raped her for years. She accused Combs of forcing her and others to have unwanted sex in drug-filled environments.

“I was disgusted when I did it”

The case was settled in a day, but months later, CNN aired security camera footage from the hotel showing Combs punching, kicking and throwing Cassie to the ground. After the video aired, Combs apologized, saying, “I was disgusted when I did that.”

The indictment refers to the attack, but does not name Ventura, and says Combs tried to bribe a hotel security guard to keep quiet about it.

However, Combs and his lawyers have denied similar allegations made by others in a series of lawsuits.

Douglas Wigdor, an attorney for Cassie, said in a statement Tuesday: “Neither Ms. Ventura nor I have any comment.”

“We thank you for your understanding and if anything changes, we will definitely inform you,” he added.

One woman said Combs raped her twenty years ago, when she was 17. A music producer filed suit, claiming Combs forced him to have sex with prostitutes. Another woman, April Lampros, said Combs subjected her to “horrific sexual encounters,” beginning in 1994, when she was a college student.

The AP typically does not name people who report sexual abuse unless they speak out publicly, as Cassie and Lampros have done.

Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, has gotten out of legal trouble before.

In 2001, he was acquitted of charges related to a shooting at a Manhattan nightclub two years earlier that left three people injured. His then-protégé, Shyne, was convicted of assault and other charges and served about eight years in prison.

Associated Press writers MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER contributed to this report.