In a shocking new testimony on Wednesday, Bryana ‘Bana’ Bongolan, a former graphic designer for Sean “Diddy” Combs, told a federal jury that the music mogul once dangled her over a 17th-floor balcony during a terrifying 2016 incident, leaving her traumatised to this day. Testifying at Combs’ ongoing sex trafficking trial in Manhattan, Bongolan — a 33-year-old creative director and longtime friend of Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassie — said the alleged assault took place at Cassie’s Los Angeles apartment. She described how Combs held her over the edge of the balcony for 10 to 15 seconds while screaming profanities, before pulling her back and throwing her onto patio furniture. “I was scared to fall,” she told jurors, who were shown photos of Bongolan wearing a neck brace. She said the assault left her with a bruise “the size of a softball” and ongoing pain in her back and neck. Nearly a decade later, Bongolan said the emotional damage remains. “I have nightmares and I have a lot of paranoia and I used to scream a lot in my sleep, but it’s dissipated a little bit,” she said, according to AP. Her most recent nightmare, she testified, was just days ago.She said the balcony assault happened after he showed up to Cassie’s apartment unannounced early one morning, banging angrily on the door. Bongolan, who’d been asleep on the couch with her ex-girlfriend nearby, hid her ex in the bathroom and went to the balcony “to act casual” and look for marijuana. As she lit the blunt or was about to, Combs grabbed her.Bongolan said Cassie, who was sleeping in the bedroom, then came out and asked Combs: “Did you just hang her over the balcony?” Told that Bongolan’s ex-girlfriend was also in the apartment, Combs swiftly left, Bongolan said.Cassie recounted the episode in her testimony last month, telling jurors: “I saw him bring her back over the railing of the balcony and then throw her onto the patio furniture.” Bongolan has filed a civil lawsuit against Combs and denied suggestions from the defence team that she had been using drugs during the incident. Combs’ lawyers claimed she was a heavy user and insinuated her memories could be compromised — an accusation Bongolan flatly rejected. Her testimony marks the fourth week of the high-profile trial and sets the stage for a major witness expected to take the stand Thursday — a woman identified only as “Jane,” who alleges she was abused by Combs and forced to participate in drug-fuelled sex marathons known as “freak-offs.” Bongolan also claimed she personally witnessed Combs physically abuse Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura. Cassie previously testified over four days, alleging years of physical and sexual abuse, including repeated instances of forced participation in “freak-offs.” Combs’ lawyers said Bongolan was a heavy drug user and suggested she may have been high during the alleged attack, which she denies. Bongolan has a pending lawsuit against Combs.Bongolan, one of at least three witnesses granted immunity, acknowledged that she and Cassie had what Westmoreland characterized as “a serious drug problem.” Bongolan said they’d sometimes sprinkle cocaine into a marijuana – a “Coco Puff” – and that she sold drugs to Cassie weekly. She said Cassie sometimes put up the money for drugs, an arrangement Westmoreland described as a “drug partnership.”Bongolan, who did design work for Combs’ companies, said he gave her drugs three or four times, including ecstasy and cocaine, and that she once did ketamine with Cassie and Combs for eight hours during a New Year’s Eve party in Miami in 2017.She also testified Combs threatened her at a photo shoot: “I’m the devil and I could kill you.” Bongolan is one of several witnesses to accuse Combs of violence toward them. She testified she also saw him abusing Cassie, the R&B singer whose real name is Casandra Ventura. Cassie testified over the course of four days that Combs beat her and subjected her to hundreds of freak-offs. Other witnesses described seeing similar abuse. Before Bongolan, forensic video expert Frank Piazza testified about security footage of Combs beating Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in March 2016. Jurors have seen the footage more than a dozen times. Piazza also analyzed 10 sexually explicit videos from Cassie’s device. Those were not shown. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to charges of running his business empire as a racketeering enterprise, allegedly using employees to enable and conceal the sexual and physical abuse of women over two decades. He faces 15 years to life if convicted.
