First witnesses in Sean "Diddy" Combs' trial testify about Cassie assault, paid sexual encounters
Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking and racketeering trial got underway Monday with opening statements and the first two witnesses: Israel Florez and Daniel Phillip.
The morning started off with jury selection being finalized. The 12 jurors range in age from 30-74 and include eight men and four women. One is a social worker, another is a scientist and some are retirees.
Combs' family in court
Combs entered the courtroom in a sweater, looked at his mother and children, who were seated in the gallery, and blew them a kiss. He made a heart shape with his hands and gave a thumbs up. They smiled at him, and a few pumped their fists.
His family didn't say anything all day as they entered and exited the courthouse.
At moments when the testimony got particularly graphic, three of his daughters left the courtroom.
Prosecutors say "there was another side" to Combs
The all-female prosecution team began its opening statement by telling the jury "to the public, he was Puff Daddy or Diddy, a cultural icon, a businessman, larger than life... but there was another side to him."
A side that ran a criminal enterprise, prosecutors said, along with an inner circle of bodyguards and employees they say helped him cover up alleged crimes including kidnapping, arson, drugs, sex crimes, bribery and obstruction.
Combs "sometimes called himself the king and expected to be treated like one," prosecutors said.
"This case is not about a celebrity's private sexual preferences," they added.
It was coercive and criminal, prosecutors alleged, saying Combs used lies, threats, drugs and violence to get sex in highly orchestrated ways lasting multiple days in sessions called "freak offs," "wild king nights" or "wild hotel nights." They alleged Combs filmed women being forced to have sex with male escorts.
Defense says Combs is "a complicated man"
"Sean Combs is a complicated man," defense attorneys said in their opening statement. They say the case, though, is not complicated, and that it's about voluntary adult choices in consensual relationships. They argue that the government is trying to turn the case into something else.
"You are not here to judge him and his sexual preferences," the defense said, adding that one accuser "was in a relationship and was not being trafficked."
They told jurors the government can say over and over again this case has nothing to do with his private sex life, but it does. They acknowledged "Sean Combs has a bad temper" and is sometimes out of control, but they said "he's not charged with being 'mean' or a 'jerk.'"
"Domestic violence is not sex trafficking," they told the jury.
They added Combs is a "drug user," and "you may know of his love of baby oil." They said the latter is not a federal crime and insisted the women were willing participants and "made free choices every single day for years."
Witnesses testify about Cassie hotel video, sexual encounters
The first witness called was Florez, who was a security officer at the California hotel where a violent incident was captured on surveillance camera showing Combs attacking his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura.
The second witness called to the stand was Phillip, who testified he was paid to have sex with Ventura with Combs present. He testified Combs once threw a bottle at Ventura and dragged her by the hair, which he told the jury frightened him.
Ventura is expected to testify at the trial. Prosecutors say former employees will also take the stand.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to five counts, which include sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
