Prosecutors focus on Diddy's 'freak offs' in opening statements for his federal trafficking trial

The public knew Sean "Diddy" Combs as a larger-than-life cultural icon and business mogul, but behind the scenes, he was coercing women into drug-fueled sexual encounters and using violence to keep them in line, a federal prosecutor told a jury Monday during opening statements in Combs' sex trafficking trial.

"This is Sean Combs," Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson told the Manhattan jury as she pointed at Combs, who leaned back in his chair as she spoke. "... During this trial you are going to hear about 20 years of the defendant's crimes. But he didn't do it alone. He had an inner circle of bodyguards and high-ranking employees who helped him commit crimes and cover them up."

Those crimes, she said, included: Kidnapping, arson, drugs, sex crimes, bribery and obstruction.

On the contrary, Combs' lawyer Teny Geragos said during her opening, the trial of Combs is a misguided overreach by prosecutors, who are trying to turn consenting sex between adults into a prostitution and sex trafficking case.

"Sean Combs is a complicated man. But this is not a complicated case. This case is about love, jealousy, infidelity and money," Geragos told the eight men and four women on the jury. "There has been a tremendous amount of noise around this case over the past year. It is time to cancel that noise," she added, noting the intense public attention the case has received.

READ MORE: www.scrippsnews.com/us-news/crime/jury-chosen-in-s…

(Story via The Associated Press)
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