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WASHINGTON — Hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has been denied bail after pleading not guilty in a sex-trafficking case.
A New York federal judge remanded the musician in custody after prosecutors argued he was a “serious flight risk”.
Combs, 54, was arrested on Monday evening, accused of running a criminal enterprise from at least 2008 that relied on drugs and violence to force women to “fulfill his sexual desires”, according to prosecutors.
A 14-page indictment charges him with racketeering, sex trafficking by force, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
If convicted on all three counts, the rapper and record producer faces a sentence of 15 years up to life in prison.
He was wearing a black T-shirt and grey sweatpants during Tuesday’s court appearance in Manhattan.
Asked by US Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky how he wished to plead, Combs stood up and said: “Not guilty.”
According to court documents, Combs “wielded the power” of his status to “lure female victims… to engage in extended sex acts” called “Freak Offs”.
“During Freak Offs, Combs distributed a variety of controlled substances to victims, in part to keep the victims obedient and compliant,” the indictment said.
In a news briefing, US prosecutor Damian Williams said officials found firearms, ammunition and more than 1,000 bottles of lubricant during raids on Combs’s homes in Miami and Los Angeles, about six months ago.
Williams said federal agents had also found three semi-automatic rifles with defaced serial numbers, and a drum magazine.
He told reporters that further charges were possible, without offering specific details.
Combs’s lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said the defence team had already launched an appeal against the judge’s bail decision, with a hearing set for Wednesday.
“We believe in him wholeheartedly,” Agnifilo told reporters at the Manhattan court.
“He didn’t do these things. There’s no coercion and no crime. He’s not afraid of the charges.”
Agnifilo said Combs was the target of “an unjust prosecution”.
In court documents, federal prosecutors said that Combs had “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct”.
Prosecutors accuse Combs of “creating a criminal enterprise” whose members – under his direction – engaged in sex trafficking, forced labour, kidnapping, arson and bribery.
“On numerous occasions”, the documents said, Combs assaulted women by “striking, punching, dragging, throwing objects at, and kicking them”.
The indictment did not specify how many women were alleged victims. It also does not accuse Combs himself of engaging directly in unwanted sexual acts with women.
The Bad Boy records founder, who was also known during his career as P. Diddy and Puff Daddy, has faced many of the accusations before.
Last November, his ex-girlfriend, singer Casandra Elizabeth Ventura, filed a civil lawsuit against him that included graphic descriptions of violent abuse. He denied the accusations, but settled the case a day after it was filed.
In May, Combs released a public apology after video footage from a Los Angeles hotel appeared to show him beating Ms Ventura in a hallway.
Tuesday’s indictment against Combs accuses him of similar violence.
Ms Ventura’s lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, declined to comment on Combs’s arrest.
The indictment follows a string of sexual assault allegations against Combs, one of the most successful music moguls in the history of rap.
Four women, including Ms Ventura, have filed lawsuits accusing him of sexual and physical abuse.
In a statement issued last December, Combs defended himself against what he described as “sickening allegations” made by “individuals looking for a quick payday”.
In June, he returned a ceremonial “Key to the City of New York” following a request from Mayor Eric Adams, who had bestowed the honor on him just nine months beforehand.
Days later, Howard University announced it was revoking Combs’s 2014 honorary degree.
The musician is credited with helping turn rappers and R&B singers such as Usher, Mary J Blige and Notorious B.I.G. into stars in the 1990s and 2000s. — BBC
