Posted by Amarachi on Fri 11th Oct, 2024 - tori.ng
Prosecutor Emily Johnson told the court the prosecution's case would last at least three weeks.
The trial of embattled American rapper, Sean "Diddy" Combs on s3x trafficking and racketeering charges has been fixed for May 5, 2025.
This was decided by a U.S. judge on Thursday, October 10.
Combs appeared in Manhattan federal court on Thursday in front of Judge Arun Subramanian. His family, including his mother and six of his children, were in attendance.
Combs, wearing an all-tan prison outfit, smiled and waved at family as he walked in and hugged his attorneys.
Combs, 54, pleaded not guilty on Sept. 17 to a three-count indictment charging him with using his business empire including legendary record label Bad Boy Entertainment - to transport women and male s3x workers across state lines to take part in recorded s3xual performances called "Freak Offs."
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian set the trial date at a hearing in Manhattan federal court.
Prosecutor Emily Johnson told the court the prosecution's case would last at least three weeks. Combs' defense case will last around one week, defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo said.
Combs has been jailed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his arrest. His appeal of another judge's decision to deny him bail is pending.
The rapper and producer faces a sentence of up to life in prison and a minimum of 15 years if convicted of the three counts he faces: racketeering conspiracy, s3x trafficking and transportation to engage in pr*stitution.
Prosecutors said Combs enticed women by giving them drugs such as ketamine and ecstasy, financial support or promises of career support or a romantic relationship.
Combs then used the surreptitious recordings of the s3x acts as "collateral" to ensure that the women would remain silent, and sometimes displayed weapons to intimidate abuse victims and witnesses, prosecutors said.
The indictment contained no allegation that Combs himself directly engaged in unwanted s3xual contact with women, though he was accused of physically assaulting them.