Weeks before the music mogul is scheduled to stand trial, prosecutors added a more serious charge involving a woman they refer to as “Victim-2.”
Federal prosecutors have amended the indictment against Sean Combs, who is scheduled to stand trial next month, to include a second major sex-trafficking charge, according to a grand jury indictment unsealed on Friday.
The new charge relates to a woman described by prosecutors as “Victim-2.” They allege that she is one of three female victims whom Mr. Combs coerced into sex.
Before, Mr. Combs had been charged only with sex trafficking “Victim-2” under a less serious charge that makes it illegal to transport a person “with intent that such individual engage in prostitution.” The new indictment adds a second count of a more serious sex-trafficking charge that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.
Mr. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, which include a count of racketeering conspiracy, and has vehemently denied sex trafficking anyone. His lawyers have argued that the conduct the prosecutors are targeting involves consensual sex.
In a statement released on Friday in response to the new charges, the Combs defense team said: “These are not new allegations or new accusers. These are the same individuals, former long-term girlfriends, who were involved in consensual relationships. This was their private sex life, defined by consent, not coercion.”
Jury selection in the trial, which will be held at Federal District Court in Manhattan, is scheduled to start in late April. Opening statements are scheduled to start on May 12.
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Source: Music - nytimes.com
