Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Denied 2nd Bail Request; Lawyers Call Jail Conditions ‘Horrific’

Sean “Diddy” Combs was denied a second bail request Wednesday and remains in a Brooklyn federal jail while awaiting trial on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution.

The Grammy-winning rap artist was previously denied bail during his arraignment on Tuesday. 

Combs’ attorneys appealed the judge’s decision in a letter, citing “horrific” conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center were “not fit for pre-trial detention,” per People. The rapper’s defense team on Wednesday proposed that Combs remain home alone at his Florida residence with a 24/7 security team, only admitting visitors from a pre-approved guest list. 

Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr. denied the appeal, saying “there is no condition or combination of conditions to ensure he will not obstruct justice or tamper with witnesses.”

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Combs was arrested Monday in Manhattan and pleaded not guilty to all charges. The federal prosecutors unsealed a 14-page indictment against the 54-year-old rapper on Tuesday morning that alleged he “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.”

Prosecutors said Combs relied “on the employees, resources, and influence of the multi-faceted business empire that he led and controlled—creating a criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in, and attempted to engage in, among other crimes, sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice.”

The documents include allegations of the rapper forcing women to participate in “freak offs,” or “highly orchestrated performances,” which Combs allegedly “arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded.”

Investigators reported having found more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant used during these “freak offs.”

Recordings were then allegedly used as “collateral to ensure the continued obedience and silence of the victims,” threatening their “careers and livelihoods, including if they resisted participating in Freak Offs,” the indictment said.

There are also allegations of physical abuse, which include instances when Combs allegedly “hit, kicked, threw objects at, and dragged victims, at times, by their hair.” 

Assistant United States Attorney Emily A. Johnson said Combs “has the propensity to become violent at the slightest provocation” and described him as a “serial abuser.”

If convicted on all three counts, Combs faces a sentence of 15 years up to life in prison.