Source : NEW INDIAN EXPRESS NEWS
NEW YORK: Testimony in the sex trafficking trial of hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs began this week, opening a window into what prosecutors say was the sordid world of group sex, drugs and violence beneath the glittering, jet set persona cultivated by the Bad Boy Records founder.
Much of the testimony was hard to watch. Combs’ ex-girlfriend, Cassie, recounted being beaten and pressured into degrading sexual performances with strangers.
Here are five key moments from the trial, which resumes Monday:
Defense: Combs, a violent jerk and swinger, not sex trafficker
Lawyer Teny Geragos took a novel approach to defending Combs in her opening statement. She conceded the hip-hop impresario has a “bad temper” and is prone to violent outbursts that are often fueled by alcohol, jealousy and drugs.
But she maintained that while his actions might have warranted domestic violence charges, they aren’t proof he engaged in sex trafficking and racketeering — the charges he faces.
Geragos argued that Combs’ sexual habits were part of a swinger lifestyle involving consenting adults and reminded jurors that “kinky” sexual predilections don’t equate to sex trafficking.
“Sean Combs is a complicated man. But this is not a complicated case,” she said. “This case is about love, jealousy, infidelity and money.”
Jurors sees video, photos of infamous attack on Cassie
The packed courtroom fell silent when jurors were shown security camera video of Combs assaulting Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.
The video depicts Cassie, an R&B singer, headed down a hallway toward the hotel’s elevators just before Combs rounds a corner, strikes her and throws her to the ground before kicking her and then dragging her back toward their hotel room.
Jurors also viewed photographs of damage in the hotel hallway, including flowers strewn on the floor and soil spattered against a wall.
Later, as Cassie testified about the attack, they were shown photos of the musician’s swollen lip.
SOURCE :- NEW INDIAN EXPRESS
