“In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone – man or woman, adult or minor.”
Combs, 54, has also pleaded not guilty to criminal sex trafficking charges in federal court in Manhattan, where he faces felony counts of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Federal prosecutors have accused the Bad Boy record label founder of coercing men, women and children into sex acts without their consent, bribing and intimidating them into keeping quiet, and employing his staff to cover up his crimes.
Combs has been held for six weeks in a Brooklyn jail after being denied bail twice, and is appealing his detention.
In the complaint involving the 10-year-old, the California plaintiff known as John Doe said he was an aspiring actor and rapper when a consultant his parents had hired arranged an “audition” with Combs at a New York hotel.
According to the complaint, after Doe told Combs he would “do anything” to become a star, Combs gave him a soda spiked with drugs, pushed him down and forced him to perform oral sex.
Doe said he lost consciousness, and upon waking was sore and had his pants undone. He said he cried and asked to see his parents, leading Combs to say he would hurt them “badly” if Doe revealed what happened, the complaint said.
In the second complaint, a different California plaintiff named John Doe said Combs forced him to perform oral sex on himself and the bodyguard, with the rapper framing the latter as a “test” of how much Doe wanted to succeed in the music industry.
Doe failed the audition, after Combs deemed him “untrustworthy due to his reservations about performing oral sex on his bodyguard”, the complaint said.
Combs’ criminal trial is scheduled for May 5, 2025.
