Sean Combs sex trafficking trial updates: Cassie's testimony ends after days of describing abuse

The hip-hop mogul is charged with sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.

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Last updated: Friday, May 16, 2025 11:26PM GMT
DIDDY ON TRIAL: First week of witness testimony recap
Eyewitness News breaks down the first full week of witness testimony in the Sean Combs trial including star witness Cassie Ventura.

NEW YORK -- After four days on the witness stand, Cassie Ventura concluded her testimony Friday at the trial of her ex-boyfriend, Sean "Diddy" Combs.

It came shortly after the defense concluded nearly two days of cross-examination.

Prosecutors allege Combs, 55, used his fame and fortune to orchestrate an empire of exploitation, coercing women into abusive sex parties.

If Combs is convicted on all charges, which include racketeering, kidnapping, arson, bribery and sex trafficking, he would face a mandatory 15 years in prison and could remain behind bars for life.

This story may contain accounts and descriptions of actual or alleged events that some readers may find disturbing.

"Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy," a new podcast from "20/20" and ABC Audio, traces how the whispers of abuse came to light and led to the downfall of Sean "Diddy" Combs, who was once among the most influential entertainers and entrepreneurs in hip hop. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and more.

Kemberly Richardson reports from Lower Manhattan.

(ABC News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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May 16, 2025, 3:58 PM GMT

Defense questions Ventura on PTSD and opiate addiction treatment

Cassie Ventura testified she has been taking Suboxone, a treatment for opiate addiction since 2022.

In 2023, she attended a 45-day in-patient treatment program in Arizona that included neuro-feedback therapy and EMDR, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, a psychotherapy technique meant to help process distressing memories, according to her testimony.

"You understood that you were being treated for PTSD?" defense attorney Anna Estevao asked. "Yes," Ventura testified. She denied being treated for sex or love addiction, which the facility also offers.

The testimony has been interrupted by calls for conferrals between the parties.

The judge called a recess to remind the defense of his rules and to impose new ones.

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May 16, 2025, 4:16 PM GMT

Jury hears dramatic recording of Ventura threatening man who said he had 'freak off' video

The jury heard a dramatic recording of a March 2014 conversation in Atlantic City between Cassie Ventura and a man called Sugit, who claimed he had seen her in a sexually explicit video taken during a "freak off."

"Tell me what exactly you saw," Ventura is heard telling Sugit. "You told me somebody else was in there f------ me."

A moment later her voice is heard rising.

"You have it? Why didn't you show me?" Ventura said. "Because I'm not disrespectful," Sugit is heard answering meekly.

"You've had it the whole time?" Ventura said. "It's my f------- life and I'll kill you. I'll kill you if you don't show me. Pull it up. If you have it pull that s--- up or I'm going to kill you!"

Ventura is heard telling Sugit, "We're staying here until you show me that s---. I'm going to kill you I don't give a f---. I'll kill you because you're f------ with me!"

Ventura testified about another time she said she became concerned about a sex tape, one taken by one of the male escorts who participated in a "freak off."

"I was in the room with him and I saw the phone up so I told Sean about it after," Ventura testified,

"You were concerned he was recording?" defense attorney Anna Estevao asked. "Yes," Ventura answered.

"What happened when you told Mr. Combs your suspicion?" Estevao asked. "He said, 'I'll take care of it,'" Ventura responded.

Ventura testified she also grew concerned that some of the male escorts hired for "freak offs" were participating in a reality television show featuring the escort service she said she and Combs used.

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May 16, 2025, 3:06 PM GMT

Cassie Ventura testifies on multiple instances of Combs' alleged intense jealousy

Cassie Ventura testified about a time in August 2016 when she and Sean Combs were in a car and he allegedly swiped her phone from her hand, jumped from the vehicle and ran down Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles.

"Right before my 30th birthday, I think, and I was dating someone else and I'm not sure how he found out," she testified. "He grabbed my phone and ran out of the car."

When she returned home without her phone, Ventura said her mother called the police. Ventura said she did not know how Combs found out she was seeing the other person, whom she said was an NFL player.

"Mr. Combs was insanely jealous?" defense attorney Anna Estevao asked. "He was upset with you when he suspected you of cheating?"

Ventura responded, "When I was with anyone else. I don't know if I would call it cheating"

Estevao said, "You understood he thought it cheating."

Ventura responded, "That's a technicality. We weren't married."

The defense has been highlighting episodes of infidelity and jealousy that plagued their relationship.

Estevao asked about another instance of jealousy: "He found out that you were dancing with another person in the entertainment industry and took your phone?"

"I honestly don't know," Ventura responded.

"You remember the occasion when he suspected you of dancing with Chris Brown?" Estevao asked, referring to the R&B singer.

Ventura said that she remembered Combs being upset but she denied dancing with Brown.

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May 16, 2025, 3:03 PM GMT

Jurors hear Cassie in 2013 pleading not to make sex video public

Jurors heard a recording of a distressed Cassie screaming at a friend who said he had seen a video of performing sex acts.

In the recording, made by Cassie in 2013, the man claimed to have the video on his phone. Cassie is heard pleading to see the video and then threatening to kill him if it became public.

"I've never killed anyone in my life, but I will kill you," Cassie told the man, punctuating her threats with profanity.

Cassie acknowledged in her testimony that Combs subsequently made efforts to keep the video private.