NEW YORK — Another ex-girlfriend who alleges she was abused by Sean “Diddy” Combs and forced to participate in drug-fueled sex marathons is expected to testify Thursday at the hip-hop mogul’s sex trafficking trial in New York.
The woman, testifying under the pseudonym “Jane,” is one of several witnesses accusing the music mogul of violence toward them, including his former girlfriend, R&B singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura. Cassie testified earlier in the trial that she was assaulted numerous times by Combs and endured “hundreds” of sexual performances known as “freak-offs,” which she says Combs would watch and film.
Jane, a single mother, dated Combs for three years beginning in 2020, about two years after Cassie and Combs’ relationship ended. Prosecutors said Combs’ relationship with Jane began as a romance but soon became reliant on freak-offs in which Jane would perform sexually with male escorts while Combs directed the action.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to charges of running his business empire as a racketeering enterprise, allegedly using employees to enable and conceal the sexual and physical abuse of women over two decades. He faces 15 years to life if convicted.
Judge Arun Subramanian was expected to set ground rules to ensure that the privacy of Jane is protected. The Associated Press does not identify people who say they’re victims of sexual abuse unless they choose to make their names public, as Cassie has done.
A group of news organizations, including the AP, is challenging a request by federal prosecutors that the court prevent reporters and members of the public from viewing text messages, photographs and other evidence shown to jurors while Jane is testifying. Lawyers for a dozen news outlets filed a letter Thursday asking the judge not to deviate from the normal practice of showing evidence on audience monitors in the courtroom and overflow rooms. Prosecutors contend the exhibits contain identifying information about the woman.
When he entered the courtroom, the judge told anyone who watches the testimony not to describe or sketch Jane in a way that could reveal her identity.
Testimony was expected to resume late Thursday morning with the defense continuing to cross-examine Bryana “Bana” Bongolan, a friend of Cassie.
A graphic designer, Bongolan testified Wednesday that an angry Combs once dangled her over the 17th-floor balcony of a Los Angeles high-rise apartment building in 2016. She says it traumatized her so much that she still suffers from nightmares. For a time afterward, she said she would wake up screaming.
Bongolan told the jurors in Manhattan that Combs lifted her over the railing for 10-15 seconds before pulling her back and throwing her onto patio furniture. “I was scared to fall,” she said. Bongolan also testified she saw Combs abusing Cassie.
Combs’ lawyers said Bongolan was a heavy drug user and suggested she may have been high during the alleged attack, which she denies. Bongolan has a pending lawsuit against Combs.
• Associated Press writer Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this story.
