Diddy trial update: Cassie sobs on stand as her testimony concludes
After the first week of testimony Sean “Diddy” Combs’ trial, Cassie’s time on the stand ends following harrowing testimony on Combs’ alleged abuse.
Prosecutors in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ ongoing criminal trial continue to build their case against the embattled hip-hop mogul following a week of emotional testimony from Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura.
Combs’ sweeping federal sex-crimes trial resumed in Manhattan court on May 19 after the rapper’s legal team grilled Casandra “Cassie” Ventura Fine on the alleged sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of Combs during cross-examination on May 16.
Dawn Richard, a former member of Combs’ platinum-selling girl group Danity Kane, retook the stand after beginning her testimony last week. Richard, who sued Combs in September 2024 on allegations of physical and sexual abuse, testified that in 2009 she saw Combs beat Ventura Fine in his Los Angeles home and drag her upstairs by the hair.
Questioned about her 2024 lawsuit against the rapper, Richard said she was not looking for compensation for her for her testimony: “I’m expecting justice,” she said.
Combs, 55, was arrested in September 2024 on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Dawn Richard alleges Diddy drug use, says she expects ‘justice’
Detailing Combs’ alleged drug use, Richard said she often observed the music mogul using marijuana, ketamine, cocaine and molly.
His drug dealer, who Richard called “One Stop,” would come to the studio, she said, providing illegal drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy. But she said the man also provided pharmaceuticals such as birth control and emergency contraceptives.
Richard also testified to seeing a Louis Vuitton toiletry bag where Combs allegedly kept his drugs and that she saw him with a handgun a few times.
When questioned about her pending civil lawsuit against Combs, Richard said she was not expecting compensation for her testimony. “I’m expecting justice,” she said.
Danity Kane alum and Combs’ former Diddy – Dirty Money collaborator Richard described witnessing Combs attack Ventura Fine as she was making eggs in a kitchen in Combs’ Los Angeles home.
Combs grabbed the skillet Ventura Fine was cooking in and tried to hit her with it, Richard said. The skillet didn’t seem to hit Ventura Fine “fully” because “she went into the fetal position,” according to Richard. Ventura Fine was “literally” trying to hide her face and her head.
Richard testified that the rapper then grabbed Ventura Fine’s hair and dragged her upstairs. She said she subsequently heard glass breaking and yelling.
Diddy on trial newsletter Step inside the courtroom as music mogul faces sex-crimes charges.
The prosecution also brought Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Yasin Binda to the stand. Binda, who specializes in human-trafficking cases, was on the scene for Combs’ Sept. 16, 2024, arrest at the Park Hyatt New York, where she photographed evidence in his room.
Among the items discovered were:
- A plastic bag filled with Johnson & Johnson baby oil
- Five bottles of baby oil and lubricant standing together on the floor of the bathtub (This was not all of the baby oil and lubricant they’d found, Binda confirmed.)
- A Louis Vuitton bag with a bottle of clonazepam – a benzodiazepine that is used for anxiety and seizures – which was prescribed to Combs’ alias, Frank Black
- Two bottles of lubricant in the right nightstand drawer
- A bottle of medication in the left nightstand with two clear plastic bags filled with a pink substance. One of the bags tested positive for ketamine, and the other had a mixture of MDMA and ketamine
- A fanny pack hanging off the bed with $9,000 in cash
- Cell phones belonging to Combs and Kristina “KK” Khorram, who has been described as Combs’ “right hand”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson asked whether Ventura Fine would give back the $20 million settlement she received from Combs if it meant erasing her past “freak offs.” Ventura Fine started tearing up and agreed, “I would give that money back if I never had to have ‘freak offs.’”
As she started to sob, she continued, “I would have had agency and autonomy. I wouldn’t have to work so hard to get it back.”
Ventura Fine testified that she and Combs had dinner at an Italian restaurant in 2018 before he allegedly raped her, a claim featured in her November 2023 civil lawsuit. She was then asked if she wondered whether Combs was in a bipolar episode during the rape, and she confirmed that she did.
Combs’ lawyer asked about her feelings for Combs in September 2018, with her saying, “There were still feelings there.” As for her feelings for Combs now, she said, “I don’t hate him,” and “I have love for the past and what it was.”
In November 2018, when Diddy’s ex Kim Porter, who is the mother of four of Combs’ seven children, died unexpectedly from pneumonia, Ventura Fine flew to Georgia and attended her memorial service.
While there, Combs texted Ventura Fine asking why she left the service without saying goodbye. Ventura Fine responded, insisting that she did. “I know how crazy and painful all this is,” Ventura Fine texted, but “you posted that Kim was your soulmate. What was the 11 years all about?” she said regarding their own relationship.
The defense asked whether Ventura Fine found that “extremely hurtful,” and she said “yes.” Ventura Fine never saw Combs again after that. He tried to get in touch through mutual friends, but she rebuffed his advances.
Combs is facing federal sex-crimes and trafficking charges in a sprawling lawsuit that has eroded his status as a power player and kingmaker in the entertainment industry.
He was arrested in September 2024 and has been charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty to all five counts.
Racketeering is the participation in an illegal scheme under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Statute, or RICO, as a way for the U.S. government to prosecute organizations that contribute to criminal activity.
Using RICO law, which is typically aimed at targeting multi-person criminal organizations, prosecutors allege that Combs coerced victims, some of whom they say were sex workers, through intimidation and narcotics to participate in “freak offs” — sometimes dayslong sex performances that federal prosecutors claim they have video of.
Jurors were told in a questionnaire reviewed by USA TODAY, “The trial is expected to last about eight weeks.”
The trial will not be televised, as cameras are typically not allowed in federal criminal trial proceedings.
USA TODAY will be reporting live from the courtroom.
If you are a survivor of sexual assault, RAINN offers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.
Contributing: USA TODAY staff
