Sean “Diddy” Combs presided over a sordid empire of sexual crimes, coercing and abusing women for years, threatening them to keep them in line and enlisting a cast of aides to cover it up, according to an indictment.
The music mogul “engaged in a persistent and pervasive pattern of abuse toward women and other individuals," including physical violence, in order "to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct, the indictment said.
And the details shared in the indictment unsealed Tuesday morning are as shocking as they are at-times disturbing. The charges describe Combs coercing or forcing his female victims into having drugged-up sexual performances called "Freak Offs" with male sex workers, which sometime lasted for days at a time and which Combs would record. The indictment also refers to an attack on his former girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie, that was captured on video.
There are also allegations of abuse from witnesses and employees, claims that he set fire to a car with a Molotov cocktail and used guns to intimidate victims and others.
“Mr. Combs physically and sexually abused victims for decades. He used the vast resources of his company to facilitate his abuse and cover up his crimes. Simply put, he is a serial abuser and a serial obstructor,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson told a court. She also said he had “extensive and exhaustive history of obstruction of justice,” including alleged bribery and witness intimidation.
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Combs was charged with one count each of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation for purposes of prostitution. If convicted, Combs faces 15 years to life in prison.
"Combs used the business empire he controlled to sexually abuse and exploit women, as well as to commit other acts of violence and obstruction of justice," said Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Even more things could come to light in regards to allegations against the entertainment star, as Williams noted that the SDNY's investigation into Combs is "far from over." Prosecutors said they spoke with more than 50 witnesses and victims — a number that is expected to grow.
Combs' attorney, Marc Agnifilo, said outside the courthouse Tuesday morning that he'd fight to keep him free, and that Combs is innocent. Combs later pleaded not guilty in court after listening to the allegations while showing little reaction, his uncuffed hands folded in his lap.
“His spirits are good. He’s confident," said the attorney, who said Combs came to New York City voluntarily to "engage the court system and start the case.” Combs, 54, was arrested in the lobby of his Manhattan hotel Monday night, sources told NBC News, roughly six months after federal authorities conducting a sex trafficking investigation raided his luxurious homes in Los Angeles and Miami.
"He is not a perfect person. There has been drug use. He has been in toxic relationships,” attorney Marc Agnifilo told the court. The lawyer said Combs was receiving “treatment and therapy for things that he needs treatment and therapy for.”
Here is a breakdown of some of the most noteworthy and stunning accusations lodged against Combs in the federal indictment.
Disturbing days-long 'Freak offs'
Sex abuse allegedly directed by Combs was fueled by drugs and often went days at a time, prosecutors said.
Federal prosecutors accused Combs of forcing victims into sex acts that he allegedly called "Freak Offs," acts which he recorded for his viewing pleasure.
Combs "used force" to "cause victims to engage in extended sex acts with male commercial sex workers that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during and often electronically recorded," court documents charged.
"Combs allegedly planned and controlled the sex performances, which he called 'freak offs' and he often electronically recorded them," Williams told reporters (Williams mentioned "freak offs" at least five times in his 18-minute meeting with the media).
Victims were filled with drugs to control them for long stretches of time — hours or days at a time, authorities said — with participants “typically” having to get “IV fluids to recover from the physical exertion.” Drugs involved in the acts often involved a variety of substances, including ketamine, ecstasy, GHB (another kind of party drug) which Combs gave to the victims in order "to keep them obedient and compliant," the indictment states.
And once victims were lured into this orbit, they were coerced to keep following orders, prosecutors said. Combs used "the sensitive, embarrassing and incriminating recordings that he made during Freak Offs as collateral to ensure the continued obedience and silence of the victims," according to court documents.
When federal agents raided Combs' homes in Miami and Los Angeles in March, they came away with some supplies allegedly used in sexual assaults, court documents showed. While details of what was taken from the homes were not shared at the time of the searches, the indictment unsealed Tuesday states that government officials took supplies Combs allegedly used in the "Freak Off" sessions — including narcotics and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and other lubricants.
Money was no object when it came to Combs' desires in the highly orchestrated sex acts: In a 2012 incident inside a Manhattan hotel, Combs had to pay more than "$46,000 to cover damages to a penthouse room following a Freak Off," the prosecution said.
"The defendant arranged Freak Offs with the assistance of members and associates of the Enterprise, including employees of his business, and the hotel rooms where they were staged often sustained significant damages," according to a prosecution memo seeking to deny Combs bail.
Those who resisted participating in the "freak offs" would have their careers or livelihoods threatened by Combs, or be subject to physical or emotional abuse from him, the indictment states.
Other abuse towards women and witnesses
The charges against Combs allege he "threatened and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires" for years, federal prosecutors said.
Combs and his associates wielded his “power and prestige” to intimidate and lure women into his orbit, “often under the pretense of a romantic relationship,” the indictment says. He also exerted control over victims by promising career opportunities, providing and threatening to withhold financial support, dictating how they looked, monitoring their health records and controlling where they lived, according to the indictment.
Combs created "a criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in" various crimes, such as "sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice," court documents said.
In addition to employing drugs and elements of his business enterprises to control victims, Combs also used physical violence to keep women in control, federal prosecutors said.
"On numerous occasions," Combs would assault women by "among other things, striking, punching, dragging, throwing objects at and kicking them," according to the three-count indictment against the music mogul. On one occasion, Combs threw a vase at a woman as she tried to leave, the indictment stated, and dragged one woman by her hair.
Combs allegedly would get his personal assistants, security and household staff to not only book hotel rooms and get the supplies for the "freak offs" (including drugs, lubricants, extra linens and lighting), but also help him hide all his transgressions afterward by cleaning the rooms while arranging the pay and transportation for victims and sex workers.
He would also instruct staff and members of the Combs Enterprise to prevent victims from leaving hotels or his residences. On some occasions, the victim would be forced to stay in hiding for several days to recover from injuries they suffered at the hands of Combs, prosecutors said.
There were times when Combs' staff would allegedly track down and contact victims who attempted to get away from the abuse, giving them a "false narrative of events in an effort to conceal Combs' crimes."
When employees, witnesses or others threatened Combs' authority or his reputation, he and his associates would threaten and harm the victims physically, financially or otherwise, the indictment states — with acts of violence including kidnapping or even arson.
All of this, prosecutors allege, was happening behind the facade of Combs’ global music, lifestyle and clothing business.
Molotov cocktail attack
In addition to a long list of alleged sex crimes, prosecutors accused Sean "Diddy" Combs of arson in the racketeering conspiracy charge against him.
While U.S. Attorney Damian Williams declined to elaborate on specifics of the the alleged arson, the act might be detailed in the prosecution's request for Combs to be held without bail.
Combs and a co-conspirator kidnapped a victim on Dec. 22, 2011, from the home of someone only identified as “Individual-1,” according to a prosecution memo.
"Approximately two weeks later, the defendant’s co-conspirators set fire to Individual-1’s vehicle by slicing open the car’s convertible top and dropping a Molotov cocktail inside the interior," prosecutors said. "Police and fire department reports extensively document the arson and conclude that the fire was intentionally set. Multiple witnesses would also testify to the defendant bragging about his role in destroying Individual-1’s car."
Semiautomatic rifles among guns seized
Federal prosecutors put on display images of weapons seized during raids on Combs' homes, including several high capacity firearms.
Two of three AR-15s taken from Combs were in his bedroom closet in Miami, where they had been "broken down into parts, along with magazines with ammunition loaded in them," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said, pointing at enlarged pictures of the weapons.
Serial numbers on those AR-15s had been defaced, prosecutors said.
Combs and his associates would often carry or take out guns to intimidate others, including some of his victims and witnesses of abuse, according to prosecutors.
Alleged assaults date back to 2008
The indictment covers explicit details of Combs allegedly assaulting several women since 2008. He is accused of “verbal, emotional, physical and sexual” abuse and that he “hit, kicked, threw objects at, and dragged victims, at times, by their hair” in assaults that took “days or weeks to heal."
In a large focus of the indictment, investigators said Combs orchestrated sexual encounters between his victims and male sex workers that he called “Freak Offs” — defined in the indictment as “elaborate and produced sex performances that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded.”
According to authorities, these encounters sometimes lasted for days and often involved multiple commercial sex workers, with Combs drugging the participants to “keep the victims obedient and compliant." The raids of Combs’ Los Angeles and Miami homes resulted in the seizure of supplies for the “Freak Offs,” including drugs and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, prosecutors said.
Larry Neumeister, Michael R. Sisak, Jennifer Peltz and Kaitlyn Huamani of The Associated Press contributed to this report.
