Overview

• Opening statements in Sean 'Diddy' Combs' federal trial described him as the leader of a decades-long criminal enterprise involving sex trafficking and coercion.
• Prosecutors presented 2016 hotel surveillance footage showing Combs physically assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, which was corroborated by testimony from a hotel security guard.
• A male escort testified about being paid by Combs to engage in sexual acts with Ventura while Combs observed and recorded, detailing instances of abuse and coercion.
• Combs' defense argued that all sexual encounters were consensual, framing the case as an overreach attempting to criminalize his private lifestyle.
• Cassie Ventura, a key witness and alleged victim, is expected to testify in the coming days, as the trial progresses through its evidentiary phase.