Judge rules civil lawsuit from Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs accuser cannot continue anonymously

A federal judge is ruling that a Jane Doe accuser of Sean "Diddy" Combs must disclose her identity, or her case will be dismissed, according to court documents.

In a ruling filed Wednesday and obtained by USA TODAY Thursday, Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil wrote "the fundamental question" is whether the Jane Doe accuser has a "'substantial privacy' interest that outweighs the customary and constitutionally-embedded presumption of openness in judicial proceedings."

In a lawsuit filed earlier this month, Doe accused Combs of raping her at a Manhattan hotel in 2004, when she was 19.

The judge said Doe "has now decided to file a lawsuit in which she accuses a famous person of engaging in heinous conduct" 20 years ago, arguing that "defendants have a right to defend themselves," and "the people have a right to know who is using their courts."

"We have great respect for the court and its rulings," Tony Buzbee, one of the attorneys for Doe, said in a statement to USA TODAY on Thursday. "Our job as counsel for these victims is to protect their safety the best we can, which is what we were trying to do by filing the cases anonymously. Anonymous or not, this case will proceed, period. "

Combs' team declined to comment.

What are Jane Doe's allegations against Diddy?

Vyskocil wrote that Doe accuser must file the lawsuit in her own name by Nov. 13 or the lawsuit will be dismissed.

The lawsuit, filed by Doe in the Southern District of New York, is one of dozens of civil lawsuits leveled against the music mogul since last November. Earlier this month, Buzbee announced his firm would be representing more than 100 people accusing Combs of sexual abuse and assault dating back decades.

In her original lawsuit, the accuser said she met Combs at a photoshoot, where the rapper invited her and her friend to his hotel for an exclusive party.

At the hotel, Doe says, she was brought to a bedroom and when she entered, Combs allegedly became "aggressive" with her and a friend and said he "forcibly" touched them.

She alleges he demanded the accuser's friend perform oral sex on him "or else he would have them both killed." Combs also forced Doe to take her clothes off under the threat of violence and "fondled, molested, and ultimately raped Ms. Doe, all while she was begging him to stop," the suit claims.

The hip-hop superstar was arrested at a Manhattan hotel on Sept. 16 and arraigned on sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution charges the following day. Investigators say the 54-year-old elaborately schemed to use his finances and status in the entertainment industry to "fulfill his sexual desires" in a "recurrent and widely known" pattern of abuse.

He has been incarcerated in the Special Housing Unit at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center since then and has maintained his innocence, pleading not guilty on all federal criminal charges and denying wrongdoing alleged in mounting civil lawsuits against him over the past year.

All of Combs' attempts thus far to get him released from jail until his May 5 trial have been denied. His team is seeking an appeals court judgment that would overturn a Sept. 18 decision to deny his request to be released from jail on conditions that include a $50 million bond.

Contributing: Taijuan Moorman, Brendan Morrow, KiMi Robinson

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support to survivors and their loved ones in English and Spanish at: 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Espa?ol RAINN.org/es.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Diddy lawsuit: Judge rules Jane Doe can't continue anonymously