Federal prosecutors have filed a revised indictment against Sean Combs bringing additional charges of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
With the new indictment, filed on Thursday, Combs faces the same three federal offenses he was originally charged with related to directing a vast criminal enterprise through which he assaulted and trafficked women with the help of his various businesses from at least 2004.
The superseding indictment, which marks the third prosecutors have brought after they filed the case against Combs, brings another count of sex trafficking with respect to one of the accusers. He’s alleged to have recruited and transported individuals with the purpose of forcing them to engage in sex acts from at least 2021.
Prosecutors have claimed that the criminal enterprise leveraged the prestige of Combs’ status to “intimidate, threaten and lure female victims” into the mogul’s orbit, often under the pretense of a romantic relationship. Combs then forced them to engage in extended sex acts with male prostitutes he referred to as “Freak Offs.” In arranging these performances, which were often recorded, Combs and his associates transported sex workers across state lines and internationally.
A grand jury also returned another count related to a lesser sex trafficking charge that makes it illegal to transport a person with the aim that the individual engage in prostitution, also known as the Mann Act, covering conduct for two of the victims. The previous superseding indictment previously charged the conduct as a single violation.
Prosecutors additionally revised the racketeering charge to include a second special sentencing factor, which could increase Combs’ total time in prison if convicted, related to a new sex trafficking offense. It clarifies that Combs kidnapped and threatened one of the victims, who was dangled over an apartment balcony, with a firearm, among other things.
In total, Combs faces five counts on three charges of racketeering, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution. He’s pled not guilty to the charges and awaits a May trial in a Brooklyn jail.
Combs, who didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, will be arraigned on the charges at a hearing scheduled for April 25.
Source: Hollywoodreporter
