A distinguished Texas lawyer says he’s now working with 120 folks with a variety of sexual abuse claims in opposition to (*120*) “Diddy” Combs which have gone by means of a “stringent” course of of vetting and corroboration. The lawyer, Tony Buzbee, claims 25 of the brand new shoppers had been minors on the time of their alleged abuse.
“When we talk about the ages of the victims when the conduct occurred, it’s shocking,” Buzbee mentioned at a press convention streamed on-line Tuesday. “Our youngest victim at the time of the occurrence was nine years old. We have an individual who was 14 years old. We have one who was 15.”
Buzbee mentioned the youngest alleged sufferer met with Combs at his Bad Boy places of work in Manhattan for an audition. The nine-year-old baby was “trying to land a record deal” alongside “other boys” amid a aggressive course of, the lawyer mentioned. “This individual was sexually abused, allegedly by Sean Combs and several other people, at the studio,” Buzbee mentioned.
Speaking from his legislation agency in Houston, Buzbee mentioned one other consumer additionally was underage and hoping to interrupt into the leisure enterprise when he encountered Combs. The music mogul allegedly instructed the boy he would “make him a star, but he needed to visit with him in private about it,” away from his mother and father. “Once they were in a private area, allegedly, Mr. Combs made the victim perform oral sex upon him,” Buzbee mentioned.
The lawyer mentioned the consumer who was 15 years outdated alleges she was flown to New York City to attend a celebration. Buzbee mentioned the teenager allegedly was drugged and raped by Combs. He mentioned general, the youngest alleged victims match a sample. “All were seeking either TV or some sort of music career with promises of, you know, ‘We’re going to make you a star,'” Buzbee mentioned. “Instead, basically, [Combs] did things to them so they don’t want to have anything to do with the entertainment industry ever again.”
In an announcement, Combs’ lawyer, Erica Wolff, mentioned Combs vehemently denies the allegations. “As Mr. Combs’ legal team has emphasized, he cannot address every meritless allegation in what has become a reckless media circus. That said, Mr. Combs emphatically and categorically denies as false and defamatory any claim that he sexually abused anyone, including minors. He looks forward to proving his innocence and vindicating himself in court if and when claims are filed and served, where the truth will be established based on evidence, not speculation,” Wolff mentioned.
According to Buzbee, his group of 120 shoppers consists of 60 males and 60 girls. He mentioned all of them “intend to bring civil claims in civil court” in opposition to Combs and doable co-defendants described as accomplices, silent bystanders, enablers, and company entities resembling accommodations, banks, and even pharmaceutical corporations. Buzbee mentioned he expects to begin submitting the lawsuits in the following 30 days. In a nod to the probability some claims may be past the statute of limitations, he mentioned New York and California seemingly will see the bulk of his shoppers’ claims. New York City has a look-back window that’s nonetheless open for claims involving gender-motivated violence. California, in the meantime, has a look-back window that may revive sure claims of sexual abuse that contain a cover-up by a company entity.
“I expect that through this process, many powerful people will be exposed,” Buzbee mentioned Tuesday, declining to call any names. “Some of this behavior occurred at private residences of people that we all know. … The names that we’re going to name, assuming that our investigators confirm and corroborate what we’ve been told, are names that will shock you.” He mentioned somebody who was in a room and watched alleged abuse with out intervening to cease might be added as a co-defendant.
“I would imagine as we speak here, there are a myriad of people who are very nervous,” the lawyer mentioned. “You can’t hide skeletons in the closet forever. I would expect there are many people out there right now who are desperately searching their memories as they delete their texts and data.”
Buzbee mentioned greater than half of his shoppers reported their alleged abuse to both legislation enforcement or medical personnel. He mentioned some examined constructive for unusual substances. “Drugs were found in their system, weird drugs, drugs that you’ve probably never heard of. One in particular that continues to pop up is a drug called Xylazine, or ‘tranq,’ which based on our research is known as a horse tranquilizer.”
The lawyer mentioned the alleged abuse goes way back to 1991 and infrequently occurred at occasions together with album launch events, New Year’s Eve celebrations, Fourth of July gatherings, Combs’ well-known “White Parties,” and different social affairs from Hollywood to the Hamptons. “If you wonder why there are so many alleged victims, that’s your answer. We’re talking about more than 25 years of this type of conduct,” he mentioned. “This has been going on for a very long time.”
Buzbee, already recognized in music circles for representing victims of the lethal crowd crush at Travis Scott’s 2021 Astroworld live performance, first introduced his connection to Combs’ case with a social media publish Sept. 26. He mentioned he was working with Andrew Van Arsdale of the California-based AVA Law Group to symbolize greater than 50 folks “who suffered sexual assault and abuse at the hands of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and his cohorts.” On Tuesday, Buzbee mentioned greater than 3,200 folks had reached out to the legislation corporations in current days with allegations associated to Combs.
“Each individual story is gut-wrenching and heartbreaking. The acts complained of occurred at hotels, private homes, and also at the infamous P-Diddy ‘Freak Off’ parties,” he mentioned. “The violations against this group of individuals are mindboggling and can only be described as debauchery and depravity, exacted by powerful people against minors and the weak.”
Combs, 54, was arrested in Manhattan two weeks in the past as federal prosecutors unveiled his indictment on racketeering and intercourse trafficking prices. In a 14-page indictment, prosecutors mentioned Combs ran a legal enterprise that engaged in “unlawful acts of violence including sexual violence,” interstate transportation for the needs of prostitution, narcotics distribution, arson, bribery, kidnapping, and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors mentioned a principal perform of the alleged enterprise was to “lure female victims into Combs’ orbit, often under the pretense of a romantic relationship,” after which use “force, threats of force and coercion” to make the victims interact in “elaborate and produced sex performances” that Combs referred to as “freak offs.” The prolonged intercourse acts typically concerned industrial intercourse staff and would generally final a number of days, they mentioned. Combs allegedly distributed medicine to his alleged victims to maintain them “obedient and compliant,” prosecutors mentioned.
Combs pleaded not responsible to the costs in the indictment and was denied bail. At hearings the place they argued for Combs’ launch pending trial, attorneys for Combs described the “freak offs” in a a lot completely different mild. Combs lawyer Marc Agnifilio argued that the allegedly violent intercourse events had been voluntary. “Is it sex trafficking? No, not if everybody wants to be there,” Agnifilo instructed the courtroom. “We are not all better off if the federal government comes into our bedrooms. They don’t do great there, and that’s what’s happening here. They’re coming into this man’s bedroom, and they are making not just judgments. They are charging him with statutes that, as they said, could put him in jail for life.”
Descriptions of Combs’ alleged “freak offs” first appeared in the graphic assault and sex-trafficking criticism that Combs’ ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura filed final November. Cassie alleged Combs compelled her to slather herself in oil and undergo the extremely orchestrated intercourse performances that might trash lodge rooms and go away her badly injured. Her lawsuit mentioned Combs would ply Cassie with “copious amounts” of medicine, together with ecstasy, cocaine, GHB, ketamine, marijuana, and alcohol,” and that the intoxicants allowed her to “disassociate during these horrific encounters.”
The indictment of Combs unsealed Sept. 17 in the Southern District of New York alleged that federal investigators seized greater than a thousand bottles of child oil and lubricant in addition to narcotics and three AR-15 rifles with their serial numbers defaced after they raided Combs’ properties in Los Angeles and Miami Beach final March.
As he awaits trial in a federal detention heart in Brooklyn, Combs can also be dealing with not less than a dozen civil lawsuits filed in the wake of Cassie’s explosive lawsuit. Two that had been filed final Thanksgiving, simply as New York’s Adult Survivors Act was set to run out, allege Combs sexually assaulted girls way back to the early Nineties. He and his attorneys have referred to as the civil lawsuits “fabricated” and filed as a “money grab.”
