By James Fanelli

Federal prosecutors say Sean "Diddy" Combs wouldn't take no for an answer, forcing his onetime girlfriends into humiliating sex acts. His lawyers say the government wrongfully criminalized his swinger lifestyle of sex and drug use.

A New York jury heard both sides' final pitches as the hip-hop mogul's sex-trafficking trial drew to a close Friday after more than six weeks, three dozen witnesses and nonstop media attention.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik said during the prosecution's summation that trial testimony showed Combs used violence, threats and financial leverage to pressure the women into drug-fueled sex parties with male escorts as he watched and recorded the performances.

Combs headed a criminal enterprise, propped up by an inner circle of bodyguards and employees who helped procure narcotics and arrange the parties, known as "freak offs," at hotels, Slavik said. They were his trusted foot soldiers who catered to his every desire, working with him to kidnap women, pay bribes and commit arson over two decades, the prosecutor said.

"The defendant used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted," Slavik said. "Dozens of witnesses agreed. He doesn't take no for an answer."

During closing arguments, Marc Agnifilo, a lawyer for Combs, accused prosecutors of intruding into the bedroom of consenting adults who enjoyed threesomes. "Where's the crime scene?" he said. "The crime scene is your private sex life."

Agnifilo also trivialized the baby oil and Astroglide lubricant that prosecutors said investigators found in his homes and pointed to as evidence of forced sex parties. "This case is badly, badly exaggerated," he said.

Combs, who founded a record label, clothing line and television network, is charged with five criminal counts, including a racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. A single sex-trafficking count carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.

His trial began May 12, with the prosecution calling about three dozen witnesses, including his former girlfriends, ex-personal assistants and escorts. Combs chose not to present any witnesses or testify.

The government's closing argument took nearly five hours on Thursday, while the defense's summation began Friday morning. The jury could start deliberating the charges as early as Friday afternoon, depending on when U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, who is presiding over the case, gives them legal instructions.

During closing arguments, Slavik showed text messages from a former Combs girlfriend -- a woman who testified under the pseudonym Jane -- objecting to sex with escorts. The prosecutor also played a voice message of Combs threatening to stop paying Jane's rent when she protested the "freak offs."

"I don't have time for games," Combs said in the message.

Jurors were shown dozens of photos of male escorts whom Jane and another former Combs girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura, were allegedly forced to have sex with. Ventura testified at the trial that she had to participate in "freak offs" weekly and developed an addiction to some of the drugs that Combs gave her.

The jury also viewed a 2016 surveillance video of Combs assaulting Ventura in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel when prosecutors said she tried to leave a sex party.

"This is what happened when Cassie said no," Slavik said as the footage played on screens.

Slavik brought up the testimony of several witnesses who described Combs as carrying guns and committing acts of violence, including dragging Ventura and Jane by their hair. The prosecutor also highlighted the role of his inner circle in kidnappings, recounting how a former personal assistant testified that Combs ordered a bodyguard to hold her against her will for more than five days in an abandoned Manhattan building while she took lie-detector tests over missing jewelry.

Agnifilo, Combs's lawyer, said Combs was busy performing in a Broadway play at the time of the alleged kidnapping. "He had nothing to do with it because he was plainly doing other things," he said.

The defense lawyer said Combs committed domestic violence in the 2016 hotel incident and at other times in his relationships with his ex-girlfriends, but the violence wasn't to coerce them into sex acts. Combs's relationships with his former girlfriends were at times toxic, Agnifilo said, but loving as well.

The prosecution's case stemmed from jealousy over Combs's cheating and a money grab by Ventura, Agnifilo said. The investigation into his client, he said, began after she filed a civil lawsuit in 2023 seeking $30 million from Combs over sex-abuse allegations. Ventura settled the case for $20 million a day after the lawsuit's filing.

"This isn't about justice. This isn't about a crime. This is about money, " he said.

Write to James Fanelli at james.fanelli@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 27, 2025 12:20 ET (16:20 GMT)

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