The avalanche never ends: already indicted and incarcerated for trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation, rapper P. Diddy is now accused of sexual assault by 120 new victims, including several minors, American lawyers announced Tuesday .
These revelations further undermine artist Sean “Diddy” Combs, 54, currently in pre-trial detention in New York awaiting his trial.
“The wall of silence has been broken and the victims are coming forward,” explained lawyer Tony Buzbee, saying he represents 120 new victims, including 25 minors at the time of the events, who intend to sue the rapper in civil court.
After the arrest of Sean Combs in New York in mid-September, his office set up a telephone crisis line.
The results are staggering: “more than 3,285 people” called saying they were victims or witnesses of an attack by the ex-hip-hop mogul.
If 120 victims have been identified, the teams involved continue to work “on more than 100 other cases” which could stand up to justice, explained lawyer Andrew Van Arsdale.
Break-in model
The revelations about the rapper started last year with a complaint from his ex-partner, singer Cassie. Since then, several alleged victims have come forward, which prompted the Manhattan federal prosecutor’s office to arrest the artist in mid-September.
Justice accuses him of having used his musical empire to rape or sexually assault his victims. The indictment describes him as a sexually violent predator, who used alcohol and drugs to obtain submission.
His arrest and incarceration triggered a wave of testimony, spanning the past three decades, lawyers said at a news conference in Houston, Texas.
“I would say that in 90% of cases, these individuals were drugged” before being attacked, explained M.e Buzbee.
During parties organized by the rapper and producer, also known by the nicknames Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, or Diddy, “when you were handed a drink [et…] if you refused to drink it, you would be kicked out,” he explained, recounting the testimony of an alleged victim.
Minors
Some victims, minors at the time of the events, were sometimes very young, according to the lawyer, who took as an example the case of a boy aged nine when he auditioned for P. Diddy’s label, Bad Boy Records.
“This person was sexually abused, apparently by Sean Combs and several others at the studio, promising him and his parents a recording contract in exchange,” he detailed.
Another woman, a minor aged 15 at the time of the events, claims to have “been raped” by the artist during an evening where she was drugged, before “other people took turns raping her” .
Lawyers have called on others to come forward.
“I expect that through this process many powerful people and many secrets will be revealed,” Ms.e Buzbee.
Sean Combs has established himself as a figure in East Coast hip-hop, on the microphone or on production. He has accumulated immense wealth over the decades, also thanks to his activities in the alcohol industry.