A series of lawsuits from 120 accusers who’ll bring claims against Sean Combs for sexual assault and sex trafficking are expected to be filed.
Tony Buzbee, a lawyer for the accusers, said on Tuesday that he represents several men and women who accuse Combs of sex crimes dating back to 1991. Many of them say they were raped after being drugged, he added, before saying that “many people trying to break into the industry were coerced into this type of conduct under the promise of becoming a star.”
During a press conference announcing the lawsuits, Buzbee said that companies and individuals who were allegedly aware of and profited off of turning a blind eye to Combs’ misconduct will be named in the litigation. In addition to banks, pharmaceutical companies and hotels, which have yet to be sued, they could include Bad Boy Entertainment and its president Harve Pierre, Universal Music Group and Epic Records, among various others that’ve already been roped into legal actions over Combs’ alleged crimes.
“I expect through this process, many powerful people will be exposed,” Buzbee said. “Many dirty secrets will be revealed.”
Some of the accusers have spoken with law enforcement leading up to and after the government bringing a three-count indictment accusing Combs, also known as “Diddy,” of sex crimes related to an alleged decades-long pattern of physical and sexual violence against people in his orbit, according to lawyers for the soon-to-be-plaintiffs. Federal prosecutors charged him with sex trafficking and racketeering for directing a vast criminal enterprise through which he assaulted and trafficked women with the help of his various business associates since at least 2008. He was also charged with transportation to engage in prostitution.
The volume of accusers in a case over alleged sex crimes is sweeping in scope. After the lawsuits are filed, Combs could face as many as 132 lawsuits involving allegations of sexual assault.
The accusers, equally split among men and women, are located across 25 states, with the majority residing in California, New York, Georgia and Florida, the lawyers said.
“Some of this behavior occurred at well-known venues,” and at the “private residences of people we all know,” Buzbee added.
The age of the victims was a major component of the announcement. The youngest accuser was nine-years-old and another was 14 at the time of the alleged incidents, according to the lawyers, who said that 25 of the 120 individuals who’ll sue Combs were minors.
The lawsuits are expected to be filed in courts across the country, with the majority in New York and California. Sexual assault claims will likely be brought under New York City’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Act, a statute that allows accusers to file civil complaints involving sexual assault claims after the statute of limitations has run out.
Per the lawyers, the lawsuits will assert a range for sexual assault, facilitated sex with a controlled substance, false imprisonment, compelling prostitution, dissemination of pornographic materials and sexual abuse of minors.
Buzbee has represented accusers who sued Deshaun Watson for sexual misconduct and victims of the 2021 Astroworld Festival that saw 10 people die due to crowd crush.
The announcement was made a day after Combs appealed a prior ruling ordering that he be detained while he awaits trial. He seeks to overturn an order from U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter, who found that the mogul poses a safety risk to the community and witnesses in the case.
Source: Hollywoodreporter
