Many of the depraved allegations in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ criminal indictment first came to light nearly a year ago when the music mogul’s ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura sued him for rape and physical abuse.
Notably, the so-called “Freak Offs” — drug-fueled, dayslong performances of sexual depravity that an observing Combs would masturbate to, according to the indictment — were detailed in Cassie Ventura’s November lawsuit describing the decade-long nightmare she allegedly endured.
Ventura — an R&B singer once signed to Combs’ label Bad Boy Records — said the first “Freak Off” happened just months into their dating, when she was around 22 and he was 40.
Despite Combs’ attempt to keep the matter hushed by settling Ventura’s suit a day after she filed, those “Freak Outs” referred to in the court documents are now serving as a main basis for the bombshell federal sex trafficking and racketeering indictment unsealed on Tuesday in Manhattan federal court.
Ventura’s lawsuit claims that the exploitative and coerced sex shows often took place in hotels — including a 2013 event at the InterContinental Hotel in New York City, where Combs was later charged “tens of thousands of dollars in damages by the hotel,” the suit claims.
Ventura’s suit alleges that the rapper paid the escorts thousands of dollars to take part in the sexual performances, and would sometimes hit her in front of them.
Combs made Ventura the lead producer in his sicko sessions, ordering her to find male sex workers online — while his assistants would stock hotel rooms with baby oil and lube, the suit alleges.
Federal prosecutors said that when agents raided Combs’ homes in Miami and Los Angeles in March, they found over 1,000 bottles of sexual lubricant and baby oil, in addition to several assault rifles with defaced serial numbers.
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An inside source told The Post that prosecutors “have gotten evidence — recordings, text messages, names — from a lot of sources,” adding that, before the raids on Combs’ homes, feds were told by sources where to look for evidence.
Ventura’s lawsuit contains a central allegation made by prosecutors: that Combs would videotape the “Freak Out” sessions, often taking the role of a director and adjusting the lighting while not preoccupied with pleasuring himself.
Despite Ventura’s efforts to delete any recordings, Combs made it clear that he was keeping the videos, the suit says.
“On one occasion, he sat next to her on a flight and made her watch a video she thought she had deleted, reinforcing her inability to escape and the immense power he held over her,” the federal lawsuit reads.
In a nearly identical claim as Ventura’s suit, the federal indictment stated that recordings of the “Freak Outs” were used as “collateral to ensure the continued obedience and silence of the victims.”
Here’s what we know about the allegations against Sean “Diddy” Combs
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- Sean “Diddy” Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by Homeland Security in March amid a possible ongoing sex-trafficking investigation.
- Authorities targeted the rapper’s homes to seize phones and computers, sources told The Post.
- At least four Jane Does and one John Doe have been interviewed by New York prosecutors in connection to sex-trafficking allegations and a RICO case, sources told Rolling Stone.
- Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassie (Cassandra Ventura) filed a lawsuit against him in November 2023 on several allegations, including rape and physical abuse for over a decade.
- Combs and Cassie settled the lawsuit one day after she filed it.
- In November 2023, the rapper was accused of drugging, filming and sexually assaulting a woman on a date in 1991.
- A third woman filed a lawsuit against the celebrity in November 2023, claiming that he and singer-songwriter Aaron Hall took turns sexually assaulting her and a friend in the early 1990s.
- In December 2023, Combs was hit with a fourth sexual assault lawsuit that accused him and others of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl at his NYC recording studio after drugging her and supplying her with alcohol.
- In September 2024, Diddy was sued by Dawn Richard, a participant on Combs’ 2004 MTV show “Making The Band,” claiming that he once broke into her dressing room and began groping her breasts and butt.
When Ventura tried to protest participating in a session — or leaving Combs altogether — she would be “brutally” beaten, the suit states.
Months after the suit was settled, disturbing video footage from 2016 showing Combs beating Ventura in a hotel hallway was released.
Ventura’s suit inspired a number of other women with similar claims.
Just days later, Joi Dickerson-Neal sued Combs, claiming he sexually assaulted her after a Harlem dinner in 1991 when she was a college student — and that he had filmed the attack.
Next, a third suit was filed by Liza Gardner in Manhattan Supreme Court before the end of November, claiming that Combs and Aaron Hall took turns raping her when she was just 16-years-old.
An anonymous woman filed a federal lawsuit in December, claiming that Combs and others participated in a sick gang-rape of her when she was 17-years-old.
- Follow along with The Post’s live coverage of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ arrest
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- Diddy forced victims into ‘freak off’ sex sessions; thousands of bottles of lube and 3 AR-15s found in March raid
- Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs arrested at NYC hotel by Homeland Security in sex-trafficking probe
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Record producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones Jr. filed a federal suit last spring claiming Combs forced him to procure drugs and participate in his “Freak Out” sessions, and was threatened with physical violence and the release of incriminating recordings if he didn’t comply.
In May, Combs was sued by a model, Crystal McKinney, who said he drugged and forced her to perform oral sex on him when she was 22-year-old.
He has denied the allegations.
Ariel Mitchell-Kidd, a lawyer representing another accuser, Adria English, told The Post that federal authorities contacted her in July but did not speak to her client at that time.
“We didn’t give any evidence, but the claims [in the indictment] are similar to what my client went through,” said Mitchell-Kidd.
English, an ex-adult film star, filed a complaint against Combs for alleged sex trafficking in July, and a month later filed a criminal complaint against the rap mogul.
The lawsuit claimed Combs forced English to have sex with guests at his famed White Parties in the Hamptons, in the mid-2000s. Combs allegedly groomed English after first employing her as a go-go dancer.
“We are one step closer to justice,” said Mitchell-Kidd about the new indictment. “We are very happy that he will face the consequences of his actions.”