Sean “Diddy” Combs is the target of seven new lawsuits, one of which claims that he raped a 13-year-old girl. They come as his attorneys made another attempt on Monday to get him released on bail, claiming that his right to a fair criminal trial is being jeopardized by a “new wave of publicity.”
Four men and three women, all of whom are unidentified, claim in the lawsuits filed Sunday in state and federal courts that Combs sexually abused them at gatherings during the past 20 years.
Non-guilty plea
Combs, 54, entered a not-guilty plea to federal sex trafficking allegations in an indictment that was made public the day following his arrest on September 16. Among the charges are claims that he utilized violence, including physical beatings, arson, and blackmail, to silence victims and force and abuse women for years with the help of coworkers and employees.
After two judges rejected bail in decisions appealed to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, he has remained in custody pending a trial on May 5.
On Sunday, Combs’ attorneys requested that a judge order prospective witnesses and their attorneys to refrain from making any remarks that would jeopardize a fair trial.
“As the Court is aware, Mr. Combs has been the subject of a constant barrage of accusations in the press from potential witnesses and their attorneys,” they wrote. “These potential witnesses and their attorneys have made a number of divisive extrajudicial remarks intended to damage Mr. Combs’s reputation in the media.”
Recent lawsuits
The most recent lawsuits are based on what attorneys claim are over 100 accusers who intend to sue Combs. Tony Buzbee, the plaintiffs’ attorney, issued a 1-800 number for accusers to call and announced the intended litigation at a news conference on October 1.
As before, Combs’ lawyers brushed off the most recent complaints as “blatant publicity stunts.” “They have complete faith in the facts, their legal defenses, and the integrity of the legal system,” they said of Combs and his legal team.
They also stated that Combs “has never sexually assaulted anyone — adult or minor, man or woman.”
As people known only as “Celebrity A,” a man, and “Celebrity B,” a woman, looked on, one of the lawsuits filed Sunday claims that a 13-year-old girl who was invited to a party by a limousine driver following the Video Music Awards in Manhattan in September 2000 was raped by a “male celebrity” and then by Combs.
More accusations
In 2022, Combs was accused in another lawsuit of sexually assaulting a male 17-year-old during a penthouse party at a Manhattan hotel.
According to the claims, the plaintiffs thought they had been given drug-laced drinks before the assault.
In a filing on Monday, Combs’ attorneys informed the 2nd Circuit that, due to “significant changed circumstances,” he will renew his bail application before the lower court. “Constitutional concerns stemming from his conditions of confinement and evidence contained in recently produced discovery” are among the difficulties, according to them.
Prosecutors said the appeals court last week that Combs “used methodical and sophisticated means to silence and intimidate witnesses throughout the racketeering conspiracy and during the Government’s investigation.” As a result, judges refused bail.
