Greater than 100 persons are to sue rap musician Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs for sexual attack, rape and sexual exploitation, a US attorney has mentioned.
Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee mentioned that one of the vital alleged sufferers come with minors who had been abused once they had been as younger as 9 years previous.
“That is crucial topic that we intend to aggressively pursue,” Mr Buzbee informed newshounds.
Erica Wolff, a attorney representing Mr Combs, mentioned the rapper “emphatically and categorically” denies the allegations, announcing they’re “false and defamatory”.
Talking at a information convention on Tuesday, Mr Buzbee mentioned he and his staff “will depart no stone unturned to search out probably liable events” within the alleged abuse, or “anyone or entity who participated in or benefited from this egregious behaviour”.
Ms Wolff mentioned in a commentary to the BBC that Mr Combs “appears to be like ahead to proving his innocence and vindicating himself in court docket, the place the reality will probably be established in keeping with proof, now not hypothesis”.
The criminal motion is the most recent towards Mr Combs.
Mr Combs was once arrested closing week and is dealing with felony fees of racketeering and intercourse trafficking. He’s lately in federal custody after he was once denied bail, which he’s interesting.
He has denied all allegations of felony wrongdoing.
In line with Mr Buzbee, who’s authorized to follow regulation in Texas and New York, the entire choice of alleged sufferers he’s representing is 120, with part of them being males and the opposite part girls who hail from greater than 25 states throughout the United States.
He added that 25 of the alleged sufferers he’s representing had been minors. This marks the primary time that Mr Combs has been accused of sexually abusing kids.
The allegations span between 1991 to as just lately as this yr with the incidents going down in Los Angeles, New York and Miami, Mr Buzbee mentioned. He added many of the incidents passed off after 2015.
Lots of the plaintiffs, he mentioned, allege they had been date raped after events hosted through Mr Combs that had been held at well known venues, in addition to personal flats and motels.
Mr Buzbee mentioned the events had been both to mark an album liberate, or had been New 12 months’s Eve events and US Independence Day events. Others passed off at what he mentioned had been auditions.
“Again and again, particularly younger other folks short of to wreck into the trade, had been coerced into this sort of behavior within the promise of being made a celebrity or the promise of getting Sean Combs pay attention to their tape,” Mr Buzbee mentioned.
One guy, who was once elderly 9 on the time, alleges he was once sexually abused through Mr Combs and his pals at a recording studio in New York whilst looking to land a file deal, in line with his attorney.
“Had he now not been in energy, I think I may’ve been one thing nice. I hand over the trade on account of what Sean Combs did to me,” he mentioned in a commentary by the use of his attorney.
Some other guy, who was once additionally a minor on the time, alleged he was once informed through Mr Combs he can be made a “celebrity”, however he first had to consult with the rapper on my own with out his oldsters.
As soon as in a non-public house, his attorney claimed Mr Combs then asked the boy carry out oral intercourse on him.
Mr Buzbee additionally raised the case of a then-15-year-old lady who alleges she was once flown to New York for a celebration hosted through Mr Combs and was once therefore raped through him and others.
The attorney claimed there was once a transparent modus operandi with alleged sufferers most often being introduced “laced” beverages ahead of being sexually assaulted.
“The largest secret within the leisure trade has in any case been printed to the sector,” Mr Buzbee mentioned. “The wall of silence has now been damaged.”
He added that this isn’t a category motion lawsuit and that there will probably be person circumstances filed for every alleged sufferer.
Andrew Van Arsdale, an legal professional on the AVA regulation team which is operating with Mr Buzbee, mentioned his company had won greater than 3,000 telephone calls from other folks alleging abuse through the track multi-millionaire.
Along with the 120 alleged sufferers, he mentioned his company had been operating to vet every other 100 circumstances.
