5 things to know about Sean Combs, ‘Freak Offs’ and the charges that could send him to prison for life
Music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, who once allegedly boasted about leveraging his relationship with megachurch Pastor T.D. Jakes to repair his public image, could face life imprisonment after being charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution connected to his infamous "Freak Off" parties.
A 14-page indictment unsealed Tuesday by U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams accuses Combs, 54, of abusing, threatening and coercing women and others. The rapper is accused of leading a racketeering conspiracy that engaged in sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice, along with other crimes between 2008 and the present.
"As alleged in the Indictment, for years, Sean Combs used the business empire he controlled to sexually abuse and exploit women, as well as to commit other acts of violence and obstruction of justice," Williams said in a statement.
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"Today, he is charged with racketeering and sex trafficking offenses. If you have been a victim of Combs' alleged abuse — or if you know anything about his alleged crimes — we urge you to come forward. This investigation is far from over."
At his arraignment in Manhattan Tuesday evening, Combs pleaded "not guilty," as predicted earlier by one of his lawyers, Marc Agnifilo, who told The New York Times that his client is going to "fight this with all of his energy and all of his might, and the full confidence of his lawyers."
"And I expect a long battle with a good result for Mr. Combs," Agnifilo stated.
Combs' arrest comes nearly four months after Jakes and fellow megachurch Pastor Jamal Bryant spoke out against Combs' actions. Bryant called for Combs' arrest after CNN published a hotel surveillance video from 2016 that appears to show the rapper shoving, grabbing, dragging and kicking his then-girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie Ventura.
Combs settled a lawsuit last November in which Ventura accused him of rape and repeated physical abuse over nearly a decade.
"Let me be the first one to say on record that P Diddy belongs in jail. Not just in jail, under the jail," said Bryant, who leads New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia. "And any person who feels comfortable abusing our women, let me go a step further, and abusing our children, needs to be held accountable on that wise."
Jakes did not directly name Combs but reportedly referenced a video he watched on social media on his way to church in May, according to The Shade Room. He shared how troubled he was by the abuse.
"When I saw the images that have been floating over the news all week, it became difficult to watch the atrocious, degrading, demeaning debauchery. I know who it was, but I saw my daughters," he said, as seen in a clip of the sermon shared by The Shade Room.
"As a man, I saw my daughters, and it made me angry. … And I thought if it affected me like that as a man, how much more is that image a trigger for women who have been through that, who are currently going through that … and feel trapped in situations where you are being physically and emotionally and verbally abused.
Jakes, who founded The Potter's House in Dallas, Texas, has faced scrutiny for his relationship with Combs over the years.
In March 2023, Christian music producer Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones alleged in a lawsuit that made audio recordings of "Combs detailing how he planned to leverage his relationship with Bishop T.D. Jakes to soften the impact on his public image of Cassie Ventura's lawsuit."
"Mr. Combs providing laced alcoholic beverages to minors and sex workers at his homes in California, New York, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Florida. Mr. Combs Chief of Staff, Kristina Khorram ('KK') instructing her staff to retrieve drugs so she can provide it to Mr. Combs for his consumption, Christian Combs drugging and sexually assaulting a woman. Mr. Combs detailing how he planned to leverage his relationship with Bishop T.D. Jakes to soften the impact on his public image of Cassie Ventura's lawsuit," the lawsuit notes.
In 2022, a video of Jakes attending Diddy's 53rd birthday party in Los Angeles caused a stir among some Christians on social media, with many questioning why he was at the party and whether it was appropriate for him to be attending a party thrown by Diddy, knowing the reputation of those parties.
At the crux of the latest lawsuit against Combs is his elaborate sex parties known as "Freak Offs," according to the indictment. Combs allegedly coerced, forced, drugged, and paid women and commercial male sex workers to engage in sexual activity sometimes for days.
Derrick Williams, executive vice president of TD Jakes Entertainment, who attended Combs' 53rd birthday party with Jakes, previously told CP that the video was captured during a brief stop at the party while they were in town for business. Another source close to the situation also told CP that, as far as they are aware, that is the only party hosted by Diddy that Jakes ever attended.
"As a filmmaker, executive producer and one of the pioneers of value-based movies, Bishop Jakes, in his role as CEO of T.D. Jakes Entertainment, paid respect to the former chairman of Revolt during the celebration of his birthday," Williams said.
Here are five things to know about the recently unsealed indictment.
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