Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking and racketeering trial is expected to get underway after the jury is sworn in Monday in New York City. The hip-hop mogul is accused of running a criminal enterprise since at least 2004 that manipulated women into participating in commercial sex acts with him, and sometimes male sex workers, during what prosecutors described as drug-fueled parties called "freak offs."Combs has been jailed at the Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn since his arrest last September.He faces five counts from four different women, including singer and ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura. Here's what to know about the charges and other key names in the case. Who is Cassie Ventura? Hotel video a key piece of evidenceVentura, who performs under the name Cassie, rose to fame with the single "Me & U" on her self-titled debut album.
The song landed the No.1 spot on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart in 2006.
She and Combs dated off-and-on from about 2007 to 2018.Security video of Combs attacking Ventura in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel in 2016 is expected to be a key piece of evidence in his trial.The video, obtained and published by CNN last year, shows Combs throw Ventura onto the floor before kicking and dragging her. Prosecutors allege the hotel assault happened during a "freak off," but Combs' lawyers, who sought to have the video excluded from trial, argue it was a "glimpse into a complex but decade-long consensual relationship." Ventura filed a federal lawsuit against Combs in 2023, accusing him of rape and physical abuse.
The suit also said Combs paid the hotel $50,000 for the footage. "After years in silence and darkness, I am finally ready to tell my story, and to speak up on behalf of myself and for the benefit of other women who face violence and abuse in their relationships," Ventura said in a statement to CBS News at the time."With the expiration of New York's Adult Survivors Act fast app...