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By Erin Keller
Reporter (Live News)
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Sean "Diddy" Combs will be sent to jail as he awaits his sex trafficking trial.
Hours after Combs, 54, pleaded not guilty to federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges on Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky judge denied his request to be released on bail.
The judge said she has "very significant concerns" about Combs' substance abuse and "what appears to be anger issues."
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Combs' attorney Marc Agnifilo said his team will be appealing the decision to hold Combs without bail in a hearing set for Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.
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Agnifilo also told reporters that Combs came to New York City "to turn himself in" but claims law enforcement had other plans.
"The government didn't want him to turn himself in because then they can ask for detention, so they go and they arrest him," Agnifilo said of Combs being arrested late Monday night.
Agnifilo said Combs is doing "fine" because he is "a fighter."
"This was a 10-year relationship," he said, presumably about R&B singer Cassie. "There's no coercion, there's no crime. This is basically someone who brought a civil case and now is finding themselves as a witness in a criminal case. We're going to fight this case with everything we have, as is he, and eventually, he's going to be shown to be innocent."
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Federal prosecutors had asked Tarnofsky to deny bail for Combs because he is a flight risk and a danger to the community as alleged in an unsealed 14-page indictment Tuesday morning.
Combs, 54, was arrested after a grand jury indictment. Around 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Combs entered a Manhattan courtroom with his hands behind his back, though they were not handcuffed, the Associated Press reports.
The outlet claims Combs showed no emotion on his face while Tarnofsky read through the allegations.
The charges against Combs allege he "threatened and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires" for years.
The Bad Boy For Life singer has reportedly offered to post a $50 million bond so that he could be released from police custody. Combs also offered to wear a GPS monitor and would accept if his travel is limited to New York City and Miami where he'd only be attending court and seeing his doctors and lawyers.
"He is not a perfect person," Combs' attorney Marc Agnifilo told the judge while fighting for the rapper to be released on bail. "There has been drug use. He has been in toxic relationships."
His indictment states Combs' alleged criminal activity dates back 16 years ago when he allegedly committed racketeering starting in 2008. He allegedly started sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution in 2009.
The documents also claim that Combs created "a criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in" various crimes, such as "sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice."
Evidence Of 'Freak Offs', Guns Found At Combs' Homes
The documents also claim Combs forced victims into sex acts he called "Freak Offs," Federal prosecutors claim Combs used "used force" to "cause victims to engage in extended sex acts with male commercial sex workers that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during and often electronically recorded."
"Combs allegedly planned and controlled the sex performances, which he called 'Freak Offs', and he often electronically recorded them," US Attorney Damian Williams said in a press conference Tuesday.
"The 'Freak Offs' sometimes lasted days at a time, involved multiple commercial source workers, and often involved a variety of narcotics such as ketamine, ecstasy, and GHB, which Combs distributed to the victim to keep them obedient and compliant."
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Law enforcement agents seized various "Freak Off" supplies, including narcotics and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, during the raids on Combs' Miami and Los Angeles homes in March. They also recovered electronic devices containing photos and videos of the "Freak Offs," as well as three AR-15 rifles, ammunition, and a large-capacity drum magazine.
Williams also emphasized that Combs "did not do all of this on his own." He claims Combs used his businesses and employees to facilitate the "Freak Offs."
"They booked the hotel rooms and stocked them with the supplies, including drugs, baby oil, personal lubricant, extra linens, and lighting," Williams said. "When the hotel rooms got damaged, they helped clean it up. They arranged for victims and commercial sex workers to travel for the Freak Offs, and they delivered large quantities of cash to Combs to pay for the commercial sex workers."
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Could Sean 'Diddy' Combs Spend Time Behind Bars?
Williams confirmed that his office is "seeking pretrial detention" for Combs since he is considered a dangerous flight risk ahead of trial.
If convicted, Combs' one count of racketeering conspiracy carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. One count of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.
The transportation for purposes of prostitution charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Agnifilo, Combs' attorney, spoke to media outside of Manhattan federal court on Tuesday, telling the crowd, "He came to New York to basically engage the court system and start the case, and it will start today and he's going to plead not guilty. He's going to fight this with all of his energy and all of his might and the full confidence of his lawyers."
The music and business mogul's arrest comes nearly six months after federal authorities conducting a sex trafficking investigation raided his homes. Combs has also been the subject of 10 civil lawsuits concerning sexual abuse, misconduct, and sex trafficking.
Williams said in a statement Monday night, "Earlier this evening, federal agents arrested Sean Combs, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY [Southern District of New York]. We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time."
A lawyer for Combs, who has also gone by "Puffy" and "Puff Daddy" professionally, said that he was "disappointed" in federal authorities for what he called an "unjust prosecution" of Combs.
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"We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney's Office," Agnifilo said in a statement emailed to Newsweek. "Sean 'Diddy' Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man, and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children, and working to uplift the Black community."
"He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal," he added. "To his credit Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court."
Celebs React To Sean 'Diddy' Combs' Indictment
Rapper 50 Cent, who has been in a longtime feud with Combs, reacted to the Last Night singer's indictment on Tuesday in an Instagram post of his appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show.
"Here I am keeping good company with @thedrewbarrymoreshow and I don't have 1,000 bottles of lube at the house," 50 Cent captioned the photo.
Shortly after Combs' arrest, Aubrey O'Day, an outspoken former member of the Combs-created girl group Danity Kane, posted a cryptic message about justice to her social media.
"The purpose of justice is to provide an ending and allow us the space to create a new chapter," O'Day's post reads. "Women never get this. I feel validated. Today is a win for women all over the world, not just for me."
"Things are finally changing," she concluded the post.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs Struggling To Find NYC Apartment
Combs has struggled to find a one-month rental in New York City, his lawyers said in court filings according to The Associated Press.
His attorney, Marc Agnifilo, said major events taking place in the city like the US Open and Fashion Week have made his short-term apartment search complicated. Some landlords have also been skeptical about having Combs as a tenant given the investigation.
Agnifilo claimed in court that Combs is in the city receiving "treatment and therapy for things that he needs treatment and therapy for."
Combs has been staying at the Park Hyatt New York since he arrived in the city on September 5. He has a reservation at the Carlyle Hotel starting Tuesday.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Cassie Lawsuit
Combs' eyebrow-raising legal troubles began in November when he and his former girlfriend, R&B singer Cassandra "Cassie" Ventura, quickly settled a lawsuit in which she alleged sexual and physical abuse.
In May, CNN released elevator security footage of Combs physically assaulting Cassie in a hotel in 2016.
"My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video," Combs said in a video statement in May, nearly eight years after the incident.
"I was disgusted then when I did it. I'm disgusted now," he added. "I went and I sought out professional help. I got into going to therapy, going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I'm so sorry. But I'm committed to be a better man each and every day. I'm not asking for forgiveness. I'm truly sorry."
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