Hip-hop mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and other charges in New York federal court on Tuesday.
He is accused of running a criminal organization that used drugs and violence to force women to “satisfy his sexual desires,” prosecutors said.
Mr. Combs appeared in court after being arrested on Monday night in New York. A judge ordered him held until the trial begins, siding with prosecutors who said Mr. Combs was a “serious flight risk.”
The 14-page indictment, unsealed Tuesday morning, charges Mr. Combs with extortion, sex trafficking by force and transportation for prostitution.
Mr Combs’ lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said the defence team had filed an appeal of the judge’s decision and a hearing would take place on Wednesday.
“We believe him wholeheartedly. He did not do these things. There was no coercion and there was no crime,” Mr Agnifilo told reporters in court. “He is not afraid of the charges.”
Mr Agnifilo said Mr Combs was the target of “an unjust prosecution”.
In court documents, federal prosecutors said Mr. Combs “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to satisfy his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.”
Prosecutors allege Mr. Combs “created a criminal organization” whose members — under his direction — engaged in sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson and bribery.
“On multiple occasions,” Combs assaulted women by “hitting, punching, dragging, throwing objects, and kicking them,” the documents said.
Mr. Combs has faced such allegations before.
In late December, Mr. Combs’s then-girlfriend, singer Casandra Elizabeth Ventura, filed a civil lawsuit against him, detailing the violent abuse. He denied the allegations and settled the lawsuit a day after the lawsuit was filed.
However, in May, Combs issued a public apology after video footage filmed at a Los Angeles hotel showed him punching Ms Ventura in the hallway.
The recent indictment against Mr. Combs accuses him of similar acts of violence with additional details about his behavior and intimate relationships.
Ms Ventura’s attorney, Douglas Wigdor, declined to comment on Mr Combs’ arrest.
According to court records, Mr. Combs “used his power” to “entice female victims…to engage in prolonged sexual acts” known as “Freak Offs.”
“During the Freak Offs, Combs distributed a variety of narcotics to the victims, in part to keep the victims docile and compliant,” the indictment said.
At a news conference after the indictment was announced, US Attorney Damian Williams said officials found guns, ammunition and more than 1,000 bottles of lubricant during raids on Mr. Combs’s homes in Miami and Los Angeles about six months ago.
Federal agents also found three semi-automatic rifles with obliterated serial numbers and a drum magazine, Williams said.
Mr. Williams told reporters that further charges could still be brought, but he did not give specific details.
The allegations come after a series of sexual assault allegations against Mr. Combs, one of the most successful music moguls in rap history.
Four women, including Ms Ventura, have filed lawsuits accusing him of sexual and physical abuse.
In a statement released last December, Mr Combs defended himself against what he described as “sickening allegations” made by “individuals looking to make a quick buck”.
However, his reputation suffered.
In June, Mr. Combs returned the ceremonial “Key to New York City” that Mayor Eric Adams had given him just nine months earlier.
Days later, Howard University announced it was revoking Combs’ 2014 honorary degree.
