The mother of hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs released a statement Sunday defending her son from the incident. criminal charges And he is currently facing multiple sexual misconduct charges in federal custody in New York.
Combs, 54, was taken into custody. at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center Since pleading not guilty on Sept. 17 to federal charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation of prostitution.
In a statement released through her attorney, Janice Smalls Combs said it was “unbearable” to witness “the public lynching of my son before he had a chance to prove his innocence.”
She also said her son had “made mistakes in the past,” referring to an episode caught on security video of Combs attacking his ex-girlfriend, singer Kathy, in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016. did. Combs apologized He said his actions were “inexcusable” and that he takes “full responsibility” for his actions.
In November, Kathy (real name Cassandra Ventura) lawsuit She accused Combs, who she was dating, of rape and abuse. he denied the accusations. they are a settlement was reached the next day.
The indictment against Combs cites an incident that was captured on the hotel’s security camera. According to the indictment, Combs tried to bribe hotel security staff who intervened in the incident to keep him quiet.
In a statement, Janice Smalls Combs said, “My son denied that he had been violent with his ex-girlfriend, even though hotel surveillance showed otherwise. It may not have been entirely true.” “Sometimes truth and lies are so closely intertwined that it’s scary to admit one part of the story, especially when that truth is outside the norm or too complicated to believe. That’s why I trust my son’s civil legal team.”I chose to settle my ex-girlfriend’s case without fighting it to the end, which resulted in the federal government interpreting this decision as an admission of guilt and Because I used it against my son, there was a rebound effect. ”
She added that it was “painful” to see people making jokes about her son’s situation “because of lies and misunderstandings”.
At the end of her statement, she asks fans and the public to “not judge him before we have had a chance to hear his opinion.”
“My son is not the monster they portray him to be,” she says. “I can only pray that I live to see him tell the truth and be exonerated.”
Prosecutors allege in the indictment that Combs was a member of a criminal organization that engaged in or attempted to engage in sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, obstruction of justice and other crimes since 2008. It is claimed that there is.
Prosecutors accused Combs of using his business empire as a criminal enterprise to cover up allegations of abusing women at events he called “freak-offs.”
“The ‘freak-offs’ can last several days at a time, involve multiple commercial sex workers, often involve a variety of drugs such as ketamine, ecstasy, and GHB, and are used by Combs to subjugate and submissive victims. and distributed them to victims in order to keep them safe,” the U.S. attorney said. Damian Williams of the Southern District of New York told reporters as the indictment was unsealed.
On October 1, Texas attorney Tony Buzbee said: On behalf of the 120 accusers They came forward with new sexual misconduct charges against Combs. Buzbee said he expects the lawsuit to be filed within the next month. Buzbee said the victims were 60 men and 60 women, 25 of whom were minors at the time of the alleged misconduct.