Greater than 100 folks will sue rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, accusing him of sexual assault, rape and sexual exploitation, a U.S. lawyer stated.
Texas lawyer Tony Buzbee stated among the alleged victims embrace minors who had been abused as younger as 9 years outdated.
“This is a vital concern that we intend to take care of proactively,” Mr Buzbee advised reporters.
Combs’ lawyer, Erica Wolfe, stated Combs “categorically and categorically” denies the allegations, calling them “false and defamatory.”
Buzbee stated at a information convention on Tuesday that he and his staff will spare no effort to search out probably accountable events for the alleged abuse, or “any particular person or entity that participated in or benefited from this egregious conduct.” .
In an announcement to the BBC, Ms Wolfe stated Mr Coombs “appears to be like ahead to proving his innocence and defending himself in court docket, the place the reality might be decided based mostly on proof moderately than hypothesis”.
That is the newest authorized motion in opposition to Mr Coombs.
Mr. Combs was arrested final week and faces felony fees of racketeering and intercourse trafficking. He’s at present in federal custody after being denied bail, which he’s interesting.
He has denied all accusations of felony misconduct.
Buzbee, who’s licensed to apply regulation in Texas and New York, stated the entire variety of victims he represents is 120, half of whom are males and half of whom are ladies, they usually come from greater than 25 states in the USA.
He added that 25 of the victims he represented had been minors. This marks the primary time Mr Coombs has been accused of sexually abusing a toddler.
Buzbee stated the fees spanned from 1991 to this 12 months, with incidents occurring in Los Angeles, New York and Miami. A lot of the incidents occurred after 2015, he added.
He stated a lot of the accusers claimed they had been date raped after events hosted by Mr Coombs at high-profile venues, personal properties and motels.
Mr. Buzbee stated the events had been both New Yr’s Eve and Fourth of July events commemorating album releases. One thing else occurred throughout what he calls an audition.
“A variety of occasions, particularly younger folks attempting to get into the business, are pressured into this conduct underneath the promise of changing into a star or having Sean Combs hearken to their tapes,” Mr. Buzbee stated.
A then-nine-year-old man claims he was sexually abused by Combs and his associates whereas attempting to land a file deal at a New York recording studio, in keeping with Combs’ lawyer.
“Had he not been in cost, I really feel I might have been nice. I’m out of this business due to what Sean Combs did to me,” he stated in an announcement via his lawyer.
One other man, who was a minor on the time, claimed Mr Combs advised him he could be a “star” however first he would want to go to the rapper alone with out his dad and mom.
His lawyer claimed that when within the personal space, Mr Coombs requested the boy to carry out oral intercourse on him.
Mr. Buzbee additionally cited the case of a then-15-year-old woman who claimed she flew to New York to attend a celebration hosted by Mr. Combs and was later raped by Mr. Combs and others.
There was an obvious modus operandi, with alleged victims typically being supplied “spiked” drinks earlier than being sexually assaulted, legal professionals claimed.
“The most important secret in leisure has lastly been revealed,” Mr. Buzbee stated. “The wall of silence has now been damaged.”
He added that this isn’t a category motion lawsuit and might be filed individually for every alleged sufferer.
Andrew Van Arsdale, an lawyer with AVA Regulation Group who’s working with Buzbee, stated his agency has obtained greater than 3,000 calls from folks alleging abuse in opposition to the music mogul.
He stated that along with the 120 alleged victims, his agency was working to evaluation one other 100 instances.
