Sean 'Diddy' Combs indicted on sex trafficking, racketeering charges

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Rapper and producer Sean "Diddy" Combs presided over a criminal empire "for decades" in which women "and others" were sexually abused, beaten, coerced and threatened, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday.

Combs "abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct," said the 14-page indictment. It alleges that he "engaged in a pervasive pattern of abuse toward women and other individuals. This abuse was, at times, verbal, emotional, physical, and sexual."

Prosecutors said Combs created a "criminal enterprise" that engaged in multiple sex crimes, including trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice. He is facing one count each of racketeering, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution.

The indictment, which was approved by a Grand Jury in New York City before he was taken into custody in Manhattan late Monday, describes Combs as using his empire to lure women into his "orbit" under the pretext of "a romantic relationship," only to force them to engage in sexual performances with sex workers that he allegedly referred to as "Freak Offs."

They "occurred regularly, sometimes lasted multiple days, and often involved multiple commercial sex workers," according to the indictment.

Combs is alleged to have distributed drugs to the victims to keep them "obedient and compliant," and he and the victims "typically received IV fluids to recover from the physical exertion and drug use," it added.

Combs kept videos of the lurid sex acts “sometimes unbeknownst to the victims,” said prosecutors.