Sean 'Diddy' Combs taken into federal custody after sex trafficking investigation
A week after a Michigan judge awarded an inmate’s $100 million judgement against Sean Combs, the music mogul, who is better known as just Diddy, was arrested Monday in New York after a grand jury indicted him on charges likely connected to racketeering and sex trafficking.
Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said on social media that federal agents had taken Combs into custody and that he expected the indictment to be unsealed Tuesday morning when he would "have more to say."
The arrest came after many months of speculation about a federal investigation targeting Combs.
Case puts Diddy in #MeToo movement company
The case now puts the hip-hop star in the company of other powerful men such as R&B singer R. Kelly, who, in the face of the #MeToo movement, have faced criminal sexual misconduct accusations against them. In 2019, Detroit Police Department investigated allegations Kelly assaulted a teen girl in Detroit.
The aim of the social movement, which used the phrase "me too," initially was to share sexual abuse and harassment experiences. In 2017, #metoo became a hashtag and took on greater cultural significance after going viral.
Since then, news outlets report workplaces have made efforts to respond, but, there also has been a backlash.
Attorney calls Diddy 'loving family man'
Combs' attorney Marc Angifilo, confirmed the evening arrest at a Manhattan hotel with USA Today, calling the indictment an "unjust prosecution." He called his 54-year-old client a "music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man, and proven philanthropist."
Angifilo told USA Today in a statement that Combs spent decades "building an empire, adoring his children, and working to uplift the Black community," and added that the music artist who has called his own behavior at times "inexcusable," is "an imperfect person" but "not a criminal."
Combs — who has been hit with sexual misconduct allegations, including an accusation of rape which was settled out of court, was the target of a federal investigation — failed to appear in court last week, leading a Lenawee County Circuit Court judge to order the default judgment.
The judge awarded Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith, an inmate convicted of a sex crime $10 million a month starting next month for 10 months in a sexual assault lawsuit the felon filed against the rapper because the celebrity failed to show up in court or file a response to the case.
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Cardello-Smith, who is serving prison time in Muskegon Heights until at least 2036 for first-degree criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping in unrelated cases, accused Diddy of touching him while they were having sex with women at a 1997 party.
In addition, last week singer Dawn Richard, formerly of the Bad Boy Records group Danity Kane and trio Diddy Dirty Money, also sued Combs, USA Today also reported, accusing Combs of sexual assault and battery, sex trafficking, gender discrimination, and copyright infringement.
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Sean 'Diddy' Combs taken into federal custody after jury indictment