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A distinguished Texas lawyer says he’s now working with 120 individuals with a variety of sexual abuse claims towards Sean “Diddy” Combs which have gone by means of a “stringent” strategy of vetting and corroboration. The lawyer, Tony Buzbee, claims 25 of the brand new shoppers have been minors on the time of their alleged abuse.
“Once we speak concerning the ages of the victims when the conduct occurred, it’s stunning,” Buzbee mentioned at a press convention streamed on-line Tuesday. “Our youngest sufferer on the time of the prevalence was 9 years outdated. We have now a person who was 14 years outdated. We have now one who was 15.”
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Buzbee mentioned the youngest alleged sufferer met with Combs at his Unhealthy Boy places of work in Manhattan for an audition. The 9-year-old youngster was “attempting to land a document deal” alongside “different boys” amid a aggressive course of, the lawyer mentioned. “This particular person was sexually abused, allegedly by Sean Combs and a number of other different individuals, on the studio,” Buzbee mentioned.
Talking from his legislation agency in Houston, Buzbee mentioned one other shopper additionally was underage and hoping to interrupt into the leisure enterprise when he encountered Combs. The music mogul allegedly instructed the boy he would “make him a star, however he wanted to go to with him in personal about it,” away from his dad and mom. “As soon as they have been in a non-public space, allegedly, Mr. Combs made the sufferer carry out oral intercourse upon him,” Buzbee mentioned.
The lawyer mentioned the shopper who was 15 years outdated alleges she was flown to New York Metropolis to attend a celebration. Buzbee mentioned the teenager allegedly was drugged and raped by Combs. He mentioned general, the youngest alleged victims match a sample. “All have been in search of both TV or some kind of music profession with guarantees of, you realize, ‘We’re going to make you a star,’” Buzbee mentioned. “As an alternative, principally, [Combs] did issues to them so that they don’t need to have something to do with the leisure business ever once more.”
In a press release, Combs’ lawyer, Erica Wolff, mentioned Combs vehemently denies the allegations. “As Mr. Combs’ authorized group has emphasised, he can not handle each meritless allegation in what has develop into a reckless media circus. That mentioned, Mr. Combs emphatically and categorically denies as false and defamatory any declare that he sexually abused anybody, together with minors. He appears ahead to proving his innocence and vindicating himself in court docket if and when claims are filed and served, the place the reality will probably be established based mostly on proof, not hypothesis,” Wolff mentioned.
In line with Buzbee, his group of 120 shoppers contains 60 males and 60 ladies. He mentioned all of them “intend to convey civil claims in civil court docket” towards Combs and doable co-defendants described as accomplices, silent bystanders, enablers, and company entities corresponding to accommodations, banks and even pharmaceutical corporations. Buzbee mentioned he expects to start out submitting the lawsuits within the subsequent 30 days. In a nod to the probability some claims could be past the statute of limitations, he mentioned New York and California probably will see nearly all of his shoppers’ claims. New York Metropolis has a look-back window that’s nonetheless open for claims involving gender-motivated violence. California, in the meantime, has a look-back window that may revive sure claims of sexual abuse that contain a cover-up by a company entity.
“I anticipate that by means of this course of, many highly effective individuals will probably be uncovered,” Buzbee mentioned Tuesday, declining to call any names. “A few of this conduct occurred at personal residences of those that everyone knows. … The names that we’re going to call, assuming that our investigators affirm and corroborate what we’ve been instructed, are names that may shock you.” He mentioned somebody who was in a room and watched alleged abuse with out intervening to cease could possibly be added as a co-defendant.
“I might think about as we converse right here, there are a myriad of people who find themselves very nervous,” the lawyer mentioned. “You possibly can’t cover skeletons within the closet perpetually. I might anticipate there are numerous individuals on the market proper now who’re desperately looking out their recollections as they delete their texts and knowledge.”
Buzbee mentioned greater than half of his shoppers reported their alleged abuse to both legislation enforcement or medical personnel. He mentioned some examined optimistic for unusual substances. “Medicine have been discovered of their system, bizarre medication, medication that you simply’ve in all probability by no means heard of. One specifically that continues to pop up is a drug referred to as Xylazine, or ‘tranq,’ which based mostly on our analysis is called a horse tranquilizer.”
The lawyer mentioned the alleged abuse goes way back to 1991. “Should you marvel why there are such a lot of alleged victims, that’s your reply. We’re speaking about greater than 25 years of this kind of conduct,” he mentioned. “This has been occurring for a really very long time.”
Buzbee, already identified in music circles for representing victims of the lethal crowd crush at Travis Scott’s 2021 Astroworld live performance, first introduced his connection to Combs’ case with a social media submit final Thursday. He mentioned he was working with Andrew Van Arsdale of the California-based AVA Legislation Group to symbolize greater than 50 individuals “who suffered sexual assault and abuse by the hands of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and his cohorts.” On Tuesday, Buzbee mentioned greater than 3,200 individuals had reached out to the legislation companies in current days with allegations associated to Combs.
“Every particular person story is gut-wrenching and heartbreaking. The acts complained of occurred at accommodations, personal properties, and in addition on the notorious P-Diddy ‘Freak Off’ events,” he mentioned. “The violations towards this group of people are mindboggling and might solely be described as debauchery and depravity, exacted by highly effective individuals towards minors and the weak.”
Combs, 54, was arrested in Manhattan two weeks in the past as federal prosecutors unveiled his indictment on racketeering and intercourse trafficking expenses. In a 14-page indictment, prosecutors mentioned Combs ran a prison enterprise that engaged in “illegal acts of violence together with sexual violence,” interstate transportation for the needs of prostitution, narcotics distribution, arson, bribery, kidnapping, and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors mentioned a fundamental perform of the alleged enterprise was to “lure feminine victims into Combs’ orbit, typically beneath the pretense of a romantic relationship,” after which use “pressure, threats of pressure and coercion” to make the victims have interaction in “elaborate and produced intercourse performances” that Combs referred to as “freak offs.” The prolonged intercourse acts typically concerned business intercourse employees and would generally final a number of days, they mentioned. Combs allegedly distributed medication to his alleged victims to maintain them “obedient and compliant,” prosecutors mentioned.
Combs pleaded not guilty to the fees within the indictment and was denied bail. At hearings the place they argued for Combs’ launch pending trial, legal professionals for Combs described the “freak offs” in a a lot totally different gentle. Combs lawyer Marc Agnifilio argued that the allegedly violent intercourse events have been voluntary. “Is it intercourse trafficking? No, not if all people desires to be there,” Agnifilo instructed the court docket. “We’re not all higher off if the federal authorities comes into our bedrooms. They don’t do nice there, and that’s what’s taking place right here. They’re coming into this man’s bed room, and they’re making not simply judgments. They’re charging him with statutes that, as they mentioned, may put him in jail for all times.”
Descriptions of Combs’ alleged “freak offs” first appeared within the graphic assault and sex-trafficking complaint that Combs’ ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura filed final November. Cassie alleged Combs pressured her to slather herself in oil and undergo the extremely orchestrated intercourse performances that might trash resort rooms and go away her badly injured. Her lawsuit mentioned Combs would ply Cassie with “copious quantities” of medication, together with ecstasy, cocaine, GHB, ketamine, marijuana, and alcohol,” and that the intoxicants allowed her to “disassociate throughout these horrific encounters.”
The indictment of Combs unsealed Sept.17 within the Southern District of New York alleged that federal investigators seized greater than a thousand bottles of child oil and lubricant in addition to narcotics and three AR-15 rifles with their serial numbers defaced when they raided Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami Seashore final March.
As he awaits trial in a federal detention middle in Brooklyn, Combs can be going through at least a dozen civil lawsuits filed within the wake of Cassie’s explosive lawsuit. Two that have been filed final Thanksgiving, simply as New York’s Grownup Survivors Act was set to run out, allege Combs sexually assaulted ladies way back to the early Nineties. He and his legal professionals have referred to as the civil lawsuits “fabricated” and filed as a “cash seize.”
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