As Sean “Diddy” Combs faces new sexual assault charges, his lawyers want a court order to identify his alleged victims.
Four men and two women sued Combs, 54, for sexual assault and rape on Monday, October 14. They filed the complaints as John and Jane Does through their attorney Tony Buzbee, who says he represents 120 unidentified plaintiffs facing similar allegations against the Bad Boy Records founder.
On Tuesday, Oct. 15, Combs’ legal team filed new court documents obtained by PEOPLE, asking the court to “require the government to identify its alleged victims” so Combs “can prepare for trial.”
Combs’ lawyers note that the case is “unique” because of his “celebrity status, wealth and the publicity of his previously settled lawsuit,” as well as the alleged “grand jury leaks and false inflammatory statements” they claim were made throughout. legal battle. Last week, his lawyers accused the government of leaking evidence, including surveillance footage from 2016 of Combs physically assaulting his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, 38, to tarnish his image.
The lawsuit accuses Kanye West of drugging and sexually assaulting a former assistant during a Diddy studio session
Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Shareif Ziyadat/Getty
In a filing Tuesday, his lawyers said the added lawsuits created a “pervasive ripple effect,” prompting plaintiffs to make claims that range from “spurious” to “utterly absurd.”
Speaking of Monday’s lawsuits, which Combs’ lawyers called a “publicity stunt,” the legal team noted that they came after dozens of similar complaints against Combs, “several of which have already been discredited, but only after irreparable harm to Mr. Combs” character and reputation.”
“These swirling allegations have created a hysterical media circus that, if not stopped, will irreparably deprive Mr. Combs of a fair trial, if they have not already.”
Diddy’s mom and children attend his trial in New York: ‘They are united in their support’
The lawyers cited “the number and anonymity of the plaintiffs” to ask the government to name the alleged victims.
They noted that the 14-page indictment against Combs — unsealed a day after he was arrested on September 16 on human trafficking, racketeering and prostitution charges — “generally alleges” that Combs “abused, threatened, and coerced” unidentified and unidentified “women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires.”
The lawyers argued in their filing that the ambiguity could call into question Combs’ “entire sexual history over the past sixteen years as part of the alleged conspiracy.”
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Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Dia Dipasupil/Getty
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They argue that “without the clarity” of the accusers’ names, there is no way for Combs to know who the accusers are. He also believes the discovery will include “extensive evidence of voluntary sexual activity – making it even more difficult for Mr. Combs to determine which of his previous sexual partners he now claims, years later, felt coerced.”
His lawyers also pointed to the attention being given to Combs’ case, which they say undermines his “right to a fair trial.”
Combs was arrested at a Manhattan hotel on September 16 at 8:52 p.m. He is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after being denied bail twice.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education