Following his arrest on Monday, superstar rap mogul Sean “P Diddy” Combs pleaded not guilty to racketeering and sex trafficking charges.
The 54-year-old Combs also faces a third charge of transportation to engage in prostitution.
The US attorney’s office made the case that Combs is a threat to the general public and the potential witness in the case against him, and the judge agreed.
His lawyers were initially offering R878 837 500 ($50-million) for bail and in-home detention.
According to court papers obtained from the US district court in the southern district of New York, Combs abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfil his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.
He was able to do this as he relied on the employees, resources, and influence of the multi-faceted business empire that he led and controlled.
Physical and emotional abuse
“This abuse was at times verbal, emotional, physical, and sexual,” read the papers.
“As part of his pattern of abuse, Combs manipulated women to participate in highly orchestrated performances of sexual activity with male commercial sex workers.
“At times, Combs and others acting in his direction made arrangements for women and commercial sex workers to fly to his location.
“Combs ensured participation from the women by, among other things, obtaining and distributing narcotics to them, controlling their careers, leveraging his financial support, threatening to cut off the same, and using intimidation and violence.”
The papers also show that on numerous occasions, from at least 2009, Combs assaulted women by striking, punching, dragging, throwing objects at, and kicking them.
Others saw some of the incidents, including the well-known one that happened at a Los Angeles hotel in March 2016.
Attempt to bribe hotel employee
“The video was captured and later publicly reported where Combs kicked and dragged and threw a vase at a woman as she was attempting to leave.
“When a member of the hotel staff intervened, he attempted to bribe the staff member to ensure silence.”
Singer Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, revealed that Combs allegedly subjected her to more than a decade of coercion by physical force and drugs, as well as a 2018 rape.
The pair met when Ventura was 19 and Combs was 37, after which he signed her to his label, and they began a relationship.
However, the matter was settled out of court, but other similar claims followed. The next court hearing for P Diddy is set for September 24.
