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On Monday, large teams of law enforcement led by Homeland Security investigators raided 3 homes belonging to Sean “Diddy” as part of a sex trafficking investigation stemming from accusations leveled against Combs in five separate lawsuits.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, federal authorities searched Combs’ properties in Holmby Hills, California, and Miami, Florida. Since then, Homeland Security Investigations confirmed that its New York branch performed undisclosed “law enforcement actions” involving this case.
Combs was not arrested and cooperated with authorities, according to his lawyer, Aaron Dyer. None of Combs’ family members were arrested, and there have been no restrictions placed on their travel, Dyer added.
During Wednesday’s “Crime Stories” episode, former federal prosecutor and President of West Coast Trial Lawyers, Neama Rahmani, said that although an indictment has not been handed down yet, a “digital footprint” may very well be what helps law enforcement make an arrest.
“No one is above the law and really, the chickens are coming home to roost,” he said. “That digital footprint, Nancy I think that’s going to be the evidence that puts Diddy away.”
The raids occurred four months after Combs’ former girlfriend, Cassie (Cassandra Ventura), accused him of sex trafficking and abuse. In a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, she alleged that Combs drugged her and forced her to have sex with other men. The pair settled the lawsuit a day after its filing.
Two more accusers came forward a week after Cassie. One of the women claimed Combs drugged and raped her at Syracuse University in New York in 1991. Combs denied these allegations and then a third accuser, Liza Gardner, levied similar allegations against him.
In that case, Gardner claimed Combs and singer-songwriter Aaron Hall drugged and raped her and a friend following an Uptown Records event in 1990. Gardner said she was 16 at the time of the incident. She also accused Combs of choking her a day after the assault.
Adjunct Professor at the University of South Carolina and founder of the non-profit organization, SASS Go, Shannon Henry, said she feels Combs is an “equal opportunity” abuser who the people around him have enabled.
“He’s an equal opportunity abuser, whether it was an eleventh grader, a college student, or it was one of his chefs,” Henry said. “There is an institution, a brand if you will, of complicity that he’s created around him, too, with, I call them his bodyguards.”
“They enabled in ways by not acting and not responding on behalf of the victim and what they’re seeing in front of them.”
Licensed Psychologist and mediator Dr. John Delatorre added that he believes it’s not just about power for someone like Diddy, who has enough money to get a “thrill” out of the abuse.
“This is a guy who thinks money, power, and respect is the be all, end all. His word is the word that goes.” Delatorre said. “He’s doing it because he has the money to do it. He gets the thrill out of it.”
“The more they say no, the harder they struggle against it, the harder the abuser is going to go. The more thrill they get out of it.”
Meanwhile, Henry conveyed that bringing people forward and allowing them to testify could lead to the answers and possible victories for victims.
“The most powerful weapon of all is shame. Because on top of all of this, you’ve got video of everything. And they can shame them into complicity and being quiet. Silence is ultimately the biggest evil,” she said.
“Bringing these people forward, giving witnesses the ability to testify will ultimately be what brings down the entire playbook.”
[Feature Photo: FILE – In this May 30, 2018, file photo, Sean “Diddy” Combs arrives at the LA Premiere of “The Four: Battle For Stardom” at the CBS Radford Studio Center in Los Angeles. Combs’ lawyer said Tuesday, March 26, 2024, that the searches of his Los Angeles and Miami properties by federal authorities in a sex-trafficking investigation were ”a gross use of military-level force” and that Combs is “innocent and will continue to fight” to clear his name. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File]
Additional reporting by Jacquelyn Gray
