Sean “Diddy” Combs is charged with 𝓈ℯ𝓍 trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution

Sean “Diddy” Combs’ 𝓈ℯ𝓍 trafficking trial is underway, with several key players taking their place in the courtroom.

In September 2024, the rap mogul was indicted on charges of 𝓈ℯ𝓍 trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. After several women came forward with claims that the musician had raped them, the Bad Boy Records founder denied all of the allegations in a statement to PEOPLE in December 2023.

“ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. For the last couple of weeks, I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy,” he said. “Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday.”

Combs continued, “Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”

After pleading not guilty, Combs’ highly anticipated trial began on May 12. On day two, key witness Casandra “Cassie” Ventura took the stand, delivering an emotional testimony filled with explosive claims from their decade-long relationship.

From the legal teams to the witnesses, here’s a guide to the key players in Diddy’s 𝓈ℯ𝓍 trafficking trial.What is Diddy charged with?Sean Combs was arrested by the NYPD in December 1999 and charged with possession of a firearm following a shooting at a Manhattan nightclub.

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In September 2024, Combs was indicted on charges of 𝓈ℯ𝓍 trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.

A 2024 federal indictment alleges that Combs used his power in the music industry to manipulate and lure women, forcing them to participate in orchestrated 𝓈ℯ𝓍 acts during so-called “freak off” parties.

According to prosecutors, “freak offs” were “elaborate and produced 𝓈ℯ𝓍 performances” that Combs allegedly coerced women into performing with male 𝓈ℯ𝓍 workers. After authorities raided Combs’ home in Miami and Los Angeles in March 2025, prosecutors said they found “freak off supplies,” which included drugs and over 1,000 bottles of 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 oil and lubricant.

Prosecutors allege that the rapper used various controlled substances — sometimes without the victim’s knowledge — to maintain control over them, per the indictment. He is also described as the mastermind behind a “criminal enterprise” linked to allegations of kidnapping, arson and drug offenses.When is Diddy’s trial taking place?Marc Agnifolo, Alexandra Shapiro, Sean “Diddy” Combs and Tony Riccio listen during a hearing in federal court on Nov. 24, 2024, in New York.

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Following juror selection on May 5, the trial officially began on May 12 in downtown Manhattan, and it’s expected to last eight weeks.

Per CBS News, Ventura’s testimony will likely be the focus of the trial’s first week.Who are the key players in Diddy’s trial?

Sean “Diddy” Combs

Sean “Diddy” Combs attends Sean “Diddy” Combs Fulfills $1 Million Pledge To Howard University on October 20, 2023, in Washington, DC.

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The rap mogul — who has been sued by dozens of people accusing him of 𝓈ℯ𝓍ual misconduct and denied the allegations — pleaded not guilty to the federal 𝓈ℯ𝓍 crime charges he is now facing.

There have been several disturbing allegations made by prosecutors against Combs, including that he forced victims to participate in “freak offs,” used drugs and power to coerce women and physically abused multiple people.

Since his 2024 arrest, Combs has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Complex in Brooklyn. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.

Cassie Ventura

Cassie attends the CFDA Fashion Awards on Nov. 7, 2022, in New York City.

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Ventura, who dated Combs for about a decade, is one of the key witnesses in the trial against him.

The R&B singer first sued Combs for 𝓈ℯ𝓍ual assault in November 2023, though the suit was settled one day after it was filed. As for his current charges, sources confirmed to PEOPLE in April 2025 that Victim-1 was Ventura — and that she would testify using her real name.

On day two of the trial, Ventura — who has two kids and is expecting another with husband Alex Fine — took the stand and described the abuse she allegedly endured by Combs, explaining that he “controlled” much of her life.

Ventura testified that the rapper introduced her to the idea of 𝓈ℯ𝓍ual voyeurism early in their relationship and asked her about “freak offs.”

“The longest was 4 days or even more with breaks. Then I was recovering from the drugs, dehydration — just trying to stay awake all the time,” she told the jury, adding that the “freak offs became a job.”

Ventura also alleged that Combs filmed their 𝓈ℯ𝓍ual encounters and used the footage as “blackmail materials,” leading her to live in fear that he would use his “many resources” to release them.

As her testimony continued, she revealed private details of their relationship, which she noted had a 17-year age gap.

Victim 2, 3 and 4

Sean Diddy Combs during the first day of trial at Manhattan federal court on May 12, 2025, in New York.

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In a motion filed in April 2025, prosecutors stated that three other victims would testify at trial, though their identities would remain protected. They requested that the women be referred to by their pseudonyms.

On day two of the trial, Victim 2 was given the pseudonym Jane, while Victim 4 was referred to as Mia, per NBC News. (Victim 3 has yet to be identified.)

During opening statements, prosecutors described Jane as a single mom who met Combs in 2020 and fell in love with the mogul. They said that she participated in a freak off, thinking it would be a one-time event, though it wasn’t.

Prosecutors outlined several other details about Jane’s relationship with Combs, including that he allegedly once kicked her to the ground and used threats to control her.

Meanwhile, Mia is Combs’ former personal assistant who alleges that the musician 𝓈ℯ𝓍ually assaulted her.

Marc Agnifilo

Attorney Marc Agnifilo speaks to the media outside federal court on Sept. 18, 2024, in New York.

AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah

Leading Combs’ defense is Marc Agnifilo, the husband of Karen Friedman Agnifilo, who is representing UnitedHealthcare shooting suspect Luigi Mangione.

In response to the charges against Combs, Agnifilo said he would “fight like hell” to get the rapper released.

“He’s 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 continued.

Ahead of the trial, Marc said his client was a “swinger,” but not a 𝓈ℯ𝓍ual predator, per ABC News.

“There’s a lifestyle, call it swingers, that he was in that he thought was appropriate,” the lawyer said. “The reason he thought it was appropriate is because it’s so common.”

Teny Geragos

Sean Combs’ lawyer Teny Geragos arrives at court on May 12, 2025, in New York City.

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Combs’ legal team also includes Teny Geragos, a founding partner at Agnifilo Intrater LLP and the daughter of well-known defense attorney Mark Geragos, who has represented Scott Peterson, the Menendez brothers and Michael Jackson.

During her opening statement, Geragos addressed hotel security footage in which Combs is seen assaulting Ventura. While she acknowledged that what Combs did was “horrible, dehumanizing, violent and terrible,” she argued that it was “evidence of domestic violence,” not 𝓈ℯ𝓍 trafficking.