Sean “Diddy” Combs, the music entrepreneur, will stay behind bars until his s3x trafficking trial begins on May 5, 2025.
The rapper made an appearance before a judge on October 10, less than a month after he was taken into custody at a hotel in New York City on allegations of racketeering, sex trafficking, and using a vehicle to engage in prostitution.
Diddy, the music tycoon, will stay behind bars until the s3x trafficking trial starts on May 5, 2025.
Judge Arun Subramanian, who took over for Andrew L. Carter Jr. earlier this month, set the trial date for May 5, 2025, at the hearing.
The hearing comes just one day after lawyers for Combs filed a new appeal seeking bail for the rapper, who has remained in custody at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York for three weeks—arguing that concerns he would “intimidate” witnesses for the upcoming trial were “unfounded,” according to court documents.
The filing, submitted Oct. 9, argued that Judge Carter’s denial of Combs’ previous appeal for bail was based on “speculation,” and not on evidence that he would actually interfere with his criminal investigation. Combs’ lawyers Alexandra A.E. Shapiro and Jason A. Driscoll further argued that the rapper’s travel to New York to face his criminal charges last month, along with their proposal of monitoring (which includes no access to phones, internet, and even video surveillance when necessary) while outside of custody helped support his release from jail, adding that their client is “presumed innocent.”
“He took extraordinary steps to demonstrate that he intended to face and contest the charges, not flee,” the filing said. “He presented a bail package that would plainly stop him from posing a danger to anyone or contacting any witnesses.”
Despite the appeal, Judge Subramanian stated that Combs will remain in custody during the Oct. 10 hearing.
Per the federal indictment released after his Sept. 16 arrest, Combs is been accused of participating in sexual performances, dubbed “Freak Offs” that occurred for hours or even days. During these circumstances, prosecutors alleged the 54-year-old “arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded.”
Combs is also accused of having “distributed a variety of controlled substances, in part to keep the victims obedient and compliant,” according to the filing, as well as using “force, threats of force, and coercion” to get victims to “engage in extended sexual acts with male commercial sex workers.”
Combs has since pleaded not guilty and maintains his innocence.
The rapper will stay in the Brooklyn jail until his May 5 trial.