By Murat Karadag
ISTANBUL (AA) - The trial of American producer and rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs over alleged sex trafficking charges and conspiracy charges will begin on May 5, 2025, according to the US media.
CBS News reported that Judge Arun Subramanian ruled in a preliminary hearing that Diddy's trial will begin in May next year.
Diddy, who appeared before a judge in New York for the first time Thursday after being taken into custody, will be tried on multiple charges including “sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, drug possession, bribery and obstruction of justice.”
Diddy's lawyers and prosecutors sent a joint letter to the judge in the rapper's case, requesting a trial date in April or May next year “in accordance with the court's trial calendar”.
- Diddy's ‘sordid past’
Diddy was arrested on Sept. 16 on charges of “sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, kidnapping, arson, drug possession, bribery and obstruction of justice.”
In the 14-page indictment made public by the court on Sept.17, it was stated that Combs organized “Freak Off” parties, which sometimes lasted for days and were usually recorded, mostly in his homes and forced the people in attendance to these parties to have sexual intercourse.
According to the indictment, Combs resorted to methods such as “threatening to control their careers by using his influence, economic, psychological, verbal and physical violence” to the victims, and that drugs were seized during the searches in the houses of the famous rapper.
The indictment also stated that Combs offered bribes to witnesses and victims to keep silent or perjure themselves.
Combs denied all of the charges against him in the federal court in Manhattan. If convicted, Combs faces a minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of life imprisonment.
*Writing by Efe Ozkan