On the verge of resting their sex trafficking case against Sean “Diddy” Combs, federal prosecutors on Monday showed jurors more videos of the drug-fueled sex marathons at the centre of allegations that could put the hip-hop mogul behind bars for life. The clips, totalling about 20 minutes of footage of so-called “freak-offs” or “hotel nights,” bookended a prosecution case that began seven weeks ago with jurors seeing security camera footage of Combs brutally beating his former longtime girlfriend Cassie at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016. Prosecutors are set to rest their case on Tuesday once Combs’ lawyers finish cross-examining the final government witness – Joseph Cerciello, a Homeland Security Investigations agent whose testimony included spending hours reading aloud text message exchanges, some of which involved Combs or other people in his orbit. As they questioned Cerciello, Combs’ lawyers played excerpts from the videos, which were shown only to the jury and the parties – not reporters or public observers of the trial – because of their graphic nature. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey sometimes referred to the mostly 1- or 2-minute clips filmed by Combs as “explicit” videos, a signal for jurors to put on headsets that enabled them to hear and view the recordings without them being seen or heard by spectators in the Manhattan courtroom. Prosecutors have cited the drug-fueled multiday events as evidence of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy, saying Combs relied on employees, associates and his business accounts to fly male sex workers to Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New York, where his staff set up hotel rooms for the encounters and cleaned up afterward. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty. He’s been active in his defense, writing notes to his attorneys and sometimes influencing when they stop questioning witnesses. Last week, prosecutors showed jurors about 2 minutes of footage from 2012 and 2014 involving Cassie, a male sex worker and Combs. Cassie, an R&B singer whose real name is Casandra Ventura, earlier testified that she participated in hundreds of the “freak-off” events. She and Combs were in a relationship from 2007 until 2018. Cassie sued Combs in 2023, alleging years of abuse. He settled within hours, and dozens of similar lawsuits followed. The Associated Press doesn’t generally identify people who say they are victims of sexual abuse unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie has done. Defense lawyers last week showed the jury about 18 minutes of video clips from the sex performances involving Cassie after a lawyer said in opening statements that the videos prove sexual activity was consensual and not evidence of a crime. On Monday, prosecutors aired nearly 20 minutes of recordings from 2021 and 2022 of a single mother who was identified only by the pseudonym “Jane,” male sex workers and Combs. Jane testified earlier in the trial for six days that she was romantically involved with Combs from 2021 until his September arrest at a New York hotel. Cerciello, the federal agent, testified that dozens of the recordings from late 2021 until last August lasted many hours. Comey finished questioning Cerciello in the early afternoon on Monday. After a cross-examination by the defense, the prosecution was expected to rest. Closing arguments were tentatively scheduled for Thursday after what was expected to be a brief defense presentation.
