With their client caught on tape beating one of his former
girlfriends, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ lawyers at his sex trafficking
trial never sought to deny that he was
physically abusive.
Instead, their trial strategy focused on convincing jurors
that there was no direct link between what they called domestic
violence and two of Combs’ ex-girlfriends’ decisions to take
part drug-fueled sex marathons with paid male escorts.
Legal experts said the argument appeared to have been
successful, with jurors voting to acquit Combs, 55, on the most
serious charges of
racketeering conspiracy
and sex trafficking. Combs was convicted on two counts of
transportation to engage in prostitution, a lesser offense.
“His attorneys were smart and they owned the bad facts,”
said Anna Cominsky, a professor at New York Law School. “They
fought on the things that mattered and it paid off.”
The verdict spared Combs, who founded Bad Boy Records and is
credited with popularizing hip-hop in American culture, a
potential life sentence.
He faces up to
10 years in prison
on each prostitution count. Prosecutors acknowledged in a
court filing that federal sentencing guidelines appeared to
recommend a maximum sentence of about 5-1\/4 years. Combs’
lawyers argued that two years would be the outer limit.
The jury’s deliberations took place behind closed doors, and
the reasoning of their decision is not known.
But legal experts said the defense put forth a strong case
that Combs’ romantic relationships may have been combustible and
at times violent, but that his conduct did not meet the
definition of sex trafficking.
Defense lawyers argued that both of his former girlfriends
who testified, the rhythm and blues singer
Casandra Ventura
and a woman known in court by the pseudonym Jane, loved
Combs and consensually took part in the sexual performances to
make him happy.
‘A DIFFERENT SCENARIO’
To convict Combs of sex trafficking, prosecutors would have
had to show that Combs used force, fraud or coercion to compel
Ventura and Jane to take part in ecstasy-fueled, days-long
sexual performances with male sex workers sometimes known as “
Freak Offs
.” Both women testified that during the encounters, Combs
would watch, masturbate, and occasionally film.
The case differed from recent high-profile sex trafficking
convictions, including those of British socialite
Ghislaine Maxwell
and rhythm and blues singer
R. Kelly
.
Those cases involved underage victims, meaning prosecutors
did not have to prove a lack of consent in order to secure a
conviction. At Combs’ trial, prosecutors had the burden of
proving beyond a reasonable doubt that adult women, who said
they loved Combs and had consensual sex with him many times, did
not consent to the “Freak Offs” on certain occasions.
“This was a very different scenario than what we usually see
with sex trafficking cases,” said Sarah Krissoff, a former
federal prosecutor in Manhattan and current partner at law firm
Cozen O’Connor. “These were messy, toxic, violent relationships
with lots of drama.”
Combs’ defense lawyers did not deny the sex acts or his
abuse. But they emphasized that Ventura and Jane were
independent women capable of making their own choices.
During cross-examination of the government’s witnesses,
the defense brought jurors’ attention to sexually explicit text
messages in which the women expressed affection for Combs.
Both said that at times took part in the sexual performances to
make Combs happy, and that they participated well after brutal
beatings by Combs, who was also known during his career as Puff
Daddy and P. Diddy.
“She was always free to leave,” defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo
said in his closing argument on June 27, referring to Ventura.
“She chose to stay because she was in love with him, and he was
in love with her.”
The Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office, which brought the
case, said in a statement after the verdict, “The disturbing
reality is that sex crimes are all too present in many aspects
of our society.”
‘THEY DIDN’T WANT TO LEAVE’
Prosecutors had argued that Combs’ violence and
threats, combined with the fact that the male escorts were paid,
meant his conduct amounted to sex trafficking.
They pointed to testimony from both Ventura and Jane that
Combs threatened to cut off financial support or release sex
tapes if they sought to end the encounters, and showed jurors a
hotel surveillance video of Combs attacking Ventura in a
hallway.
“No was never an option for Cassie,” prosecutor Maurene
Comey told jurors in her final argument on June 27. “No could
mean losing her career, her livelihood, her home, her physical
safety.”
To try to undermine the defense argument that Ventura and
Jane took part in the “Freak Offs” consensually, prosecutors
called forensic psychologist Dawn Hughes to testify as an expert
witness.
Hughes testified on May 21 that victims of sexual violence
can form a “trauma bond” with their perpetrators that can make
it difficult for the victims to leave an abusive relationship.
In his closing argument, Agnifilo urged jurors to rely on
their own intuitions about human relationships rather than
expert testimony.
“They didn’t always like him, but they loved him,” Agnifilo
said, referring to several of the government’s witnesses. “They<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With their client caught on tape beating one of his formergirlfriends, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ lawyers at his sex traffickingtrial never sought to deny that he wasphysically abusive.Instead, their trial strategy focused on convincing jurorsthat there was no direct link between what they called domesticviolence and two of Combs’ ex-girlfriends’ decisions to takepart drug-fueled sex marathons […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n