By James Fanelli and Corinne Ramey

After more than five weeks of testimony from some three dozen witnesses, federal prosecutors have offered a mountain of evidence in their sex-trafficking case against Sean "Diddy" Combs. The hip-hop mogul now faces the tough task of trying to scale it.

The drama has played out in a Manhattan courtroom where jurors have been forced to grapple with questions of consent, love, power and abuse. Combs faces five criminal counts, including allegations of sex trafficking. Prosecutors, who could rest their case as soon as Monday, have introduced graphic evidence to show Combs coerced ex-girlfriends into drug-fueled, dayslong sex parties that he called "freak offs."

As Combs begins his defense this week, his lawyers will likely use their witnesses to bolster their argument that while Combs was violent with women, all sex was consensual and he didn't commit sex trafficking.

The testimony so far has been emotional, uncomfortable -- and at times complicated.

Prosecutors asked one former Combs girlfriend, who testified under the pseudonym Jane, why she continued to see him and send him loving text messages, even though she felt he manipulated her into participating in sex parties with male escorts.

"He's just so good at showering me with love and affection with all the sexual exploitation in between," Jane said. "It's just so confusing."

Jurors have been required to watch images from the freak offs on personal screens in front of their seats, which were shielded from public view. They also watched a disturbing video of Combs assaulting another ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, in a hotel hallway in 2016 as, according to prosecutors, she left a sex party.

Former federal prosecutor Maria Cruz Melendez said the government had effectively shown that some of Combs's former workers aided him in procuring drugs, paying bribes and compensating escorts -- a key part of a racketeering conspiracy charge against him. Ventura, a singer who was once signed to Combs's music label Bad Boy Records, also provided a compelling account, detailing Combs's hair-trigger temper and the control he had over her music career and finances, said Cruz Melendez, a partner at law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

"They have powerful and clear testimony surrounding violent conduct by Combs," she said.

Dressed in a sweater and slacks, and sporting gray hair due to the lack of dye in jail, Diddy has sat flanked by lawyers in the courtroom throughout the trial. Occasionally, he has flashed a thumbs-up and smile to his family who have shown up to support him. Some days, large crowds have camped outside the courthouse in the hopes of getting a seat.

As his lawyers cross-examined witnesses, Combs at times nodded his head vigorously, prompting objections from prosecutors who suggested he was attempting to improperly sway the jury. The judge asked his lawyers to tell him to refrain from doing so.

Brian Klein, a former federal prosecutor and partner at law firm Waymaker, said the defense team so far has been successful in providing additional context to the prosecution's allegations.

"The defense is working to paint a picture for the jury that this is a series of long-term relationships and, while the facts might be disturbing, they don't amount to sex trafficking," he said.

Witnesses have included a male escort who recounted giving away $100 bills in Times Square after leaving a freak off high on ecstasy and former personal assistants to Combs who spoke about satisfying the bizarre demands of a mercurial boss.

High-profile musicians have made cameos as well. The rapper Kid Cudi testified that his house was broken into and car set on fire after Combs learned Cudi was dating his ex. Kanye West, a friend of Combs, came to court on another day to watch the proceedings.

The most anticipated testimony came from Ventura, who had an on-again, off-again relationship with Combs for more than a decade. She told jurors that Combs orchestrated sex sessions during which the mogul micromanaged every detail, from lighting to costumes to when to apply body oil. Combs watched while she had sex with paid male escorts, she said.

At first Ventura willingly participated in freak offs and enjoyed the time with him, she said. But as time went on, she said, Combs beat her, which made her feel worthless and like she had lost her agency and autonomy.

"I worried for my safety, I worried for my career," said Ventura, who settled a lawsuit she brought against Combs for $20 million in 2023. "But I also was in love with him, so I worried that he wouldn't want to be with me anymore."

Jane told jurors that participating in the parties was "a shameful dark secret of mine." When she began objecting to the parties, Combs offered to cover her rent but threatened to stop payments if she tried to leave him, she said.

Prosecutors showed a series of texts that Jane sent to Combs in December 2023 saying she felt exploited.

"Please stop drugging and using women for your fetish nights," she wrote in one correspondence. "It creates demons inside of us and real trauma to women who are only doing it to please you." At the time, she and Combs had broken up, but they rekindled the relationship two months later, and she continued to plan meetups with him until his arrest last September.

Cruz Melendez, the former prosecutor, said the defense scored its biggest win during its cross-examination of Jane. A lawyer for Combs was able to raise doubts on whether she was truly coerced into participating in the sex parties, Cruz Melendez said. "We saw many answers where Jane responded that she did these things because she wanted to be close to Combs," she said.

Write to James Fanelli at james.fanelli@wsj.com and Corinne Ramey at corinne.ramey@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 22, 2025 11:00 ET (15:00 GMT)

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