Video shows Diddy frolicking in Central Park just hours before arrest
Diddy appeared unbothered by his mounting legal woes as he frolicked in New Yorks Central Park just hours before his arrest for racketeering and sex trafficking.
Diddy appeared unbothered by his mounting legal woes as he frolicked in New Yorks Central Park just hours before his arrest for racketeering and sex trafficking.
The music mogul, real name Sean Combs, was seen kicking what appeared to be a hacky sack during his last hours of freedom on Monday.
Another video of the same outing showed Diddy, 54, flicking through his phone and enjoying the sunshine as he sat in the park.
On Tuesday a federal judge denied the rapper bail after he denied the charges and offered up his and his mothers Miami homes as collateral.
Diddys lawyers have said he had relocated to New York as he expected to be charged.
Diddy appeared unbothered by his mounting legal woes as he frolicked in New Yorks Central Park just hours before his arrest for racketeering and sex trafficking
On Tuesday a federal judge denied the rapper bail after he denied the charges and offered up his and his mothers Miami homes as collateral
He had been staying at a midtown Manhattan hotel, where he was arrested.
The music producer was spotted in Central Park several times in the days leading to his arrest - he was also seen with meeting with his lawyer Marc Agnifilo on a park bench on Friday, as first reported by NewsNation.
About 30 minutes before his arrest, Diddy was flashing smiles and posing for selfies with several adoring fans as he wandered the streets of midtown Manhattan with his son Christian.
Diddy headed to jail Tuesday to await trial in a federal sex trafficking case that accuses him of presiding over a sordid empire of sexual crimes protected by blackmail and shocking acts of violence.
He’s accused of inducing female victims and male sex workers into drugged-up, sometimes dayslong sexual performances dubbed Freak Offs.
The indictment describes Combs as the head of a criminal enterprise that engaged or attempted to engage in sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, drug offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice
A thousand bottles of baby oil were discovered during searches of his properties, it is claimed. And prosecutors allege women who participated in the freak offs so worn out by the marathon sex sessions they needed IV drips after.
The indictment also refers obliquely to an attack on his former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, that was captured on video.
Mr. Combs is a fighter. He’s going to fight this to the end. He’s innocent, his lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said after court. He plans to appeal the bail decision on Wednesday.
Agnifilo acknowledged Combs was not a perfect person, saying he’d used drugs and had been in toxic relationships but was getting treatment and therapy.
He maintained that the case stemmed from one long-term, consensual relationship that faltered amid infidelity. He didn’t name the woman, but the details matched those of Diddy’s decade-long involvement with Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura.
The Freak Offs, Agnifilo contended, were an expansion of that relationship, and not coercive.
Is it sex trafficking? Not if everybody wants to be there, Agnifilo said, arguing that authorities were intruding on his client’s private life.
The indictment describes Combs as the head of a criminal enterprise that engaged or attempted to engage in sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, drug offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.
Diddys lawyers have argued the case stems from one long-term, consensual relationship that faltered amid infidelity. He didn’t name the woman, but the details matched those of Diddy’s decade-long involvement with Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura
It says he then would use force, threats and coercion to get the women to engage with male sex workers in the Freak Offs — elaborate and produced sex performances that Combs arranged and recorded, creating dozens of videos.
He ensured their participation by procuring and providing drugs, controlling their careers, leveraging his financial support and using intimidation and violence, according to the indictment. It said his employees facilitated Freak Offs by taking care of tasks like travel and hotel arrangements and stocking them with such supplies as drugs and baby oil.
The events could last for days, and Combs and victims would often receive IV fluids to recover from the exertion and drug use, the indictment said.
During the searches of Combs’ homes earlier this year, law enforcement seized narcotics, videos of the performances and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, according to prosecutors. They said agents also seized firearms and ammunition, including three AR-15s with defaced serial numbers in his bedroom closet in Miami.
