The third woman accusing Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexual assault could testify as early as Wednesday, as the defense finished cross-examining Combs’ second accuser on Monday.
CNN reported that Eddie Garcia, who worked security at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles, will undergo about 90 minutes of questioning from prosecutors. Afterward, forensic video expert Frank Piazza is expected to testify, followed by Combs’ employee Derek Ferguson and Bryana Bongolan — a fashion designer who accused Combs of dangling her from a balcony at Cassie Ventura’s apartment in 2016.
The third woman who is accusing Combs of sexual assault will use the pseudonym “Jane.” Combs’ former assistant, who used the alias “Mia,” wrapped her testimony on Monday. Ventura, who was Combs’ ex-girlfriend, testified using her real name.
Mia, who worked for Combs from 2009 to 2017, accused Combs of kissing her shortly after she started working for him. She claimed Combs sexually assaulted her twice after that incident. She testified about being subjected to forced oral sex in Combs’ bedroom closet, and an instance in which she woke up to Combs on top of her while penetrating her.
Ventura, who dated Combs from 2007 to 2018, previously testified that Combs “stifled” her music career while forcing her to participate in “freak offs,” which often entailed her having sex with other men in Combs’ presence. Ventura said the drug-fueled ordeals left her sleep-deprived and dehydrated, as they would last for days on end.
Ventura said Combs “often” injured her during these rendezvous.
Combs was arrested on September 16, 2024, outside a Manhattan hotel on federal charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs has been denied bail three times, as Judge Andrew L. Carter determined there was a “serious risk” of witness tampering in this case.
Federal authorities raided Combs’ homes in Holmby Hills, California, and Miami in March 2024. Reports indicated that the raids were connected to an ongoing sex trafficking investigation that resulted in his arrest months later.
The raids also occurred four months after Ventura accused him of sex trafficking and abuse. In a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, she alleged that Combs drugged her and forced her to have sex with other men. The pair settled the lawsuit a day after its filing.
However, in May 2024, a video surfaced showing Combs assaulting Ventura. After the video was released, Combs put out a video expressing remorse for his behavior.
Two more accusers came forward a week after Ventura’s lawsuit. One of the women claimed Combs drugged and raped her at Syracuse University in New York in 1991. Combs denied those allegations before a third accuser, Liza Gardner, levied similar allegations against him.
Days after footage of the Ventura assault was publicized, two more women filed lawsuits against Combs. One of those women was April Lampros, a New York Fashion Institute of Technology student who reportedly met Combs in 1994. Lampros accused Combs of sexually assaulting her on four occasions between the mid-1990s and the early 2000s.
Combs has been accused of committing or facilitating sexual abuse in at least 30 other lawsuits — including one, filed in October, which alleges he and Jay-Z raped a 13-year-old girl in New York in 2000. The accuser in that case had her lawsuit dismissed in February.
Combs turned down a plea deal days before jury selection began. His trial is expected to last two months.
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[Feature Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File]
