Singer Sean “Diddy” Combs, 55, appeared to court on Friday (25), where the judge in the case of Sexual Trafficking of the hip-hop tycoon can determine the scope of any testimonial testimony specializing in his trial, which begins next month.
Combs, 55, declared innocent of the accusations, including extortion conspiracy and sexual trafficking for allegedly coercing women to participate in elaborate sexual performances known as “freak offs”. Bad Boy Records founder argues that the sexual activity described by the prosecutors was consensual.
Combs wore a prison-beige shirt and leaned forward in his seat at the defense table while his pre-judgment before US district judge Arun Subramanian began.
With the jury selection starting on May 5, Subramanian said he would decide this week about the scope of the testimony of expert witnesses. Such witnesses would not inform the jurors of the facts of the case, but would be based on their professional experience and research to witness on concepts that can help them understand the subjects in question.
US Attorney’s office promoters in Manhattan want to call Dawn Hughes, a psychologist, to witness how victims of sexual abuse can sometimes remain loyal and committed to their aggressor and remain in relationships with them due to emotional manipulation or fear of violence. Hughes witnessed in other cases of high profile sex trafficking, including the judgment of R&B singer R. Kelly in 2021.
Prosecutors say Hughes’s experience is needed to contextualize Combs argument that victims voluntarily participated in the freak offs, as they sometimes expressed affection for him and chose to stay with him.
“The defense will then argue that these answers from the victims are incompatible with the victim being the victim of abuse,” the prosecutors wrote in a court document on Wednesday. “Dr. Hughes witness that they are the dynamics of interpersonal violence that result in such behavior.”
Alexandra Shapiro, a lawyer for Combs, said in a judicial hearing on April 18 that the government was unduly seeking to use Hughes’s testimony to reinforce the credibility of the alleged victims who must witness against him.
“They will use this to say that this expert told them that essentially they should believe these people,” said Shapiro.
The initial allegations in the Comb trial, which is expected to last between eight and ten weeks, are scheduled for May 12.
Also known during his career as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, Combs It is credited with helping to turn R&B rappers and singers like Mary J. Blying, Faith Evans, Notorious Big and Usher in Stars1 in the 1990s and 2000s.
But the prosecutors said their success hid a dark side. They say he used threats of physical violence and financial support to coerce women to participate in freak offs with male sex workers. Prosecutors say the performances were often drugs, drug -powered, during which Combs sometimes recorded and masturbated.
Combs has been under Brooklyn since September. He faces the possibility of decades of prison if convicted.
Sean Combs, P. Diddy: Understand the case involving the rapper
This content was originally published in P. Diddy: Prosecutors want to hear a psychologist who deposed in the R. Kelly case on CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
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