Music mogul, Sean "Diddy" Combs will remain in jail as his s3x trafficking case is scheduled to start on May 5, 2025.
Less than a month after the rapper was arrested at a New York City hotel on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, and using transportation to engage in prostitution, he appeared before a judge during a status hearing on October 10.
During the hearing, Judge Arun Subramanian, who was reassigned the case earlier this month, replacing Andrew L. Carter Jr. set a trial date for May 5, 2025.
The hearing comes just one day after lawyers for Combs filed a new appeal seeking bail for the rapper, who has remained in custody at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York for three weeks-arguing that concerns he would "intimidate" witnesses for the upcoming trial were "unfounded," according to court documents.
The filing, submitted Oct. 9, argued that Judge Carter's denial of Combs' previous appeal for bail was based on "speculation," and not on evidence that he would actually interfere with his criminal investigation. Combs' lawyers Alexandra A.E. Shapiro and Jason A. Driscoll further argued that the rapper's travel to New York to face his criminal charges last month, along with their proposal of monitoring (which includes no access to phones, internet, and even video surveillance when necessary) while outside of custody helped support his release from jail, adding that their client is "presumed innocent."
"He took extraordinary steps to demonstrate that he intended to face and contest the charges, not flee," the filing said. "He presented a bail package that would plainly stop him from posing a danger to anyone or contacting any witnesses."
Despite the appeal, Judge Subramanian stated that Combs will remain in custody during the Oct. 10 hearing.
Per the federal indictment released after his Sept. 16 arrest, Combs is been accused of participating in sexual performances, dubbed "Freak Offs" that occurred for hours or even days. During these circumstances, prosecutors alleged the 54-year-old "arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded."
Combs is also accused of having "distributed a variety of controlled substances, in part to keep the victims obedient and compliant," according to the filing, as well as using "force, threats of force, and coercion" to get victims to "engage in extended sexual acts with male commercial sex workers."
Combs has since pleaded not guilty and maintains his innocence.
The rapper will stay in the Brooklyn jail until his May 5 trial.
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