American rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, also known as “Puff Daddy,” was arrested last night by New York police after a series of sexual assault complaints against him. The news was confirmed by the Manhattan federal prosecutor’s office, while the musician is expected to appear in court today.
“Tonight, federal agents arrested Sean Combs, pursuant to a sealed indictment,” he said. explained in a statement, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams, without providing further comment. “We expect to proceed with the declassification of the indictment in the morning and will have more to say then.”
The rapper’s lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, explained that his client was “voluntarily” in the city, where he moved. The defense, said in a statement cited from the press agency Associated Pressis “disappointed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s decision to pursue what we believe to be an unjust prosecution against Combs.” “He is a flawed person, but he is not a criminal,” Agnifilo added. “He is an innocent man with nothing to hide.”
Over the past year, the 55-year-old has been accused by several people of subjecting them to various forms of physical or sexual abuse, but the rapper has always denied all the charges. In total, since last November, Combs has nine complaints against him, including one filed by his ex-girlfriend, singer Casandra Elizabeth Ventura known as “Cassie,” who accuses him of having suffered a decade of “violent” and “deviant” behavior. Among the complainants is also former porn actress Adria English, who instead accuses him of sexual assault.
In March, U.S. Homeland Security agents raided two of the rapper’s homes in Los Angeles and Miami as part of an investigation into alleged sex trafficking. On September 9, the Lenawee County Circuit Court ordered the musician to pay a $100 million settlement for an alleged sexual assault against inmate Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith, who accused Combs of drugging and sexually assaulting her at a party in 1997.
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