At Sean "Diddy" Combs trial, Cassie Ventura levies accusations of rape and describes blackmail concerns
Cassie Ventura, Sean "Diddy" Combs' ex-girlfriend, was back on the stand Wednesday for a second day of testimony in his sex trafficking trial.
Some of the details from the testimony are disturbing.
She told the jury that after a break-up, she was raped by Combs.
Jurors were shown images from the so-called "freak offs," where Combs allegedly directed Ventura and a male escort to perform sex acts.
Combs watched as Ventura testified. She didn't look at him.
"You treat me like you're Ike Turner"
Ventura told the jury Combs would provide drugs, including ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine and GHB, for the "freak offs." She said she preferred ketamine so she could disassociate from what was going on because she didn't want to be there.
At one point, a text she sent Combs was displayed.
"Nothing good comes out of FOs anymore... you treat me like you're Ike Turner," it said.
Ventura said he would physically abuse her during the "freak offs."
"You are sick for thinking it's OK to do what you've done"
Clips of the 2016 video taken at a Los Angeles hotel showing Combs attacking Ventura were shown. Messages were displayed that he sent her afterwards that repeatedly asked her to call him, saying he had six kids and to please call.
"I'm getting arrested," he texted.
"You are sick for thinking it's ok to do what you've done...please stay far away from me," she messaged back.
Combs was not arrested at that Los Angeles hotel.
Selfies she took after showed a fat lip, and she wore sunglasses she said to hide a black eye.
Ventura said her friend called the police, who showed up to her apartment. She answered their questions, but would not tell them Combs' name, saying she wasn't ready.
"Just in that moment I didn't want to hurt him in that way," Ventura told the jury.
Blackmail concerns
Ventura was also asked to get specific about blackmail materials she said he had, including "freak off" videos of her intoxicated.
Combs "would say he was going to release them and embarrass me and put my career in jeopardy," Ventura testified.
Ventura said she was afraid they'd be released and she'd have to answer to her mother.
"Feared for my career. I feared for my family. It's just embarrassing, all of it," Ventura said.
Rape allegation
Ventura also told the jury that after they broke up in 2018, Combs "raped me in my living room," despite telling him no.
Ventura testified Combs said to her the car of another musician she dated would be blown up, and that he wanted his friends there to see it.
Ventura also testified that during one beating in a car, a couple of Combs' employees were present.
"She talked a lot about the other people that were involved and the actions that Sean Combs took to make sure that those people follow along with the plan," said criminal attorney Donte Mills, who is not involved in the case.
"It's a complicated story," said Caroline Polisi, a criminal defense attorney not involved in the case.
Polisi said Combs' legal strategy depends on consent.
"When you have instances in which there has been consensual sex, it becomes very difficult ... for prosecutors to ... point to enough evidence to show that it tips over the line from consent to illegal behavior," she said.
"The issue the prosecution still has some work to do to establish that these things were done solely for the benefit of his sexual preferences... that he established his business simply for that benefit," Mills said.
Combs' demeanor in court
Combs' daughters were not in the courtroom Wednesday, but his two sons and mother were.
"His family is very devoted to him," courtroom sketch artist Christine Cornell told CBS News New York. "I think that he's just deeply appreciative of it. They hang around until after everyone has left the room so that they can sign back and forth, 'I love you, I love you, I love you.'"
She described Combs as "very composed."
"He's very self-possessed. You don't see anything bending him out of shape," she said.
After spending two days as the prosecution's witness, Ventura will be cross-examined by the defense Thursday.
