NEW YORK (Reuters)

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ ex-girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, more popularly known by her R&B stage name known as ‘Cassie’, told the jury at the hip-hop mogul’s sex trafficking trial on Tuesday (May 13) that he often beat her, leaving her with black eyes and bruises all over her body. 

“He would bash my head, knock me over, drag me, kick me, stomp me in the head if I was down,” Ventura, her voice breaking slightly, said as the prosecution’s star witness on the second day of testimony.

Asked how frequently Combs was physical with her, Ventura, wearing a brown dress and visibly pregnant, said: “Too frequently.”

Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to five felony counts of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted on all counts, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and could face life in prison.

Prosecutors say Combs, who sported a grey beard and wore a beige sweater on Tuesday, lured women into romantic relationships, forced them to take part in days of drug-fueled sex parties and then blackmailed them with videos he recorded of the encounters.    

Combs “viciously attacked” women when they resisted taking part in the parties, known as “Freak Offs” or otherwise upset him, prosecutor Emily Johnson said in her opening statement on Monday in Manhattan federal court.

Ventura, 38, told jurors she did not want to engage in the Freak Offs but did so to avoid making Combs angry. 

“I was confused and nervous, but I also loved him very much and wanted to make him happy,” Ventura said.

Prosecutors allege Combs used his clout in the music industry to bend victims to his will and keep them silent about his abuse. Throughout Ventura’s testimony, the prosecution repeatedly emphasised the power imbalance between the Bad Boy Records founder and Ventura, who was in her early 20s when they started dating.

VENTURA SAYS COMBS CONTROLLED HER LIFE

Ventura said Combs controlled much of her life and career.

“Control was everything, from the way that I looked to what I was working on that day, who I was speaking to. Control was kind of an all-around thing to a certain point,” Ventura said.

She testified that she continued to participate in the Freak Offs because Combs used videos of the encounters as blackmail. 

Combs’ lawyers say prosecutors want to criminalise the rapper’s “swingers” lifestyle in which he and his girlfriends invited other men to join them for sex.

Defence lawyer Teny Geragos conceded to jurors on Monday that Combs had a bad temper and jealousy problems but said this had nothing to do with sex trafficking or racketeering.

“Domestic violence is not sex trafficking,” Geragos said. “He is not charged with being a flawed individual.”

Prosecutors introduced a video of Combs and Ventura on Monday, the first day of evidence in the high-profile trial. In the video, Combs throws her to the ground and kicks her in the hallway of a Los Angeles area hotel when she tried to leave.    

Combs, wearing only a towel, is then seen grabbing Ventura’s belongings and dragging her into the hallway. Combs apologised after the video first aired on CNN last year. 

Marc Agnifilo, Combs’ lead lawyer, has said the 2016 hotel incident depicted the aftermath of a dispute over infidelity. In a court hearing on Friday, Agnifilo said Ventura had a history of domestic violence, signalling he plans to use that to undermine Ventura’s credibility.

Over the course of a two-month trial, jurors are expected to hear testimony from Ventura and two or possibly three of Combs’ other female accusers, as well as his former employees who prosecutors say helped arrange and cover up his actions.       

Defence lawyer Teny Geragos said on Monday that prosecutors were trying to twist Combs’ romantic relationships into a racketeering and sex trafficking case. 

“Sean Combs is a complicated man, but this is not a complicated case. This case is about voluntary choices made by capable adults in consensual relationships,” Geragos said in her opening statement.