Sean “Diddy” Combs to Remain in Jail as Sex Trafficking Case Sets Trial Date

Content warning: This story discusses sexual assault and violence

The federal case against Sean “Diddy” Combs is moving forward. 

Less than a month after the rapper was arrested at a New York City hotel on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and using transportation to engage in prostitution, he stood before a judge during a status hearing Oct. 10. 

During the hearing, judge Arun Subramanian—who was reassigned the case earlier this month, replacing Andrew L. Carter Jr.—set a trial date for May 5, 2025. The next conference will take place in December, and either party will have until February to submit any motions. 

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 documents viewed by E! News.  

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, obtained by E! News, Combs has 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.”

As with other charges and allegations he has faced recently, Combs pleaded not guilty and maintains his innocence. 

After the Bad Boy Entertainment founder’s initial arrest, his attorney Mark Agnifilo asked the public to withhold judgment. 

“These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide,” he noted. “He looks forward to clearing his name in court.”

As the rapper has remained in custody since his Sept. 16 arrest, he will stay in the Brooklyn jail until his May 5 trial. 

Meanwhile, his legal troubles have continued to stack up. 

In September, another lawsuit was filed by a woman over the age of 18 but under the age of 55—identified as Jane Doe—alleging that the music mogul had repeatedly assaulted her over a four-year period beginning in 2020, saying she became pregnant after one instance (although she suffered a miscarriage). 

Less than a week later, another attorney, Tony Buzbee, came forward with 120 new sexual assault allegations against the rapper, noting he plans to begin filling lawsuits over the next month. 

Buzbee—who said over 3,000 individuals came forward before he spoke out—noted at a press conference Oct. 1 that his client’s allegations include “violent sexual assault or rape, facilitated sex with a controlled substance, dissemination of video recordings, sexual abuse of minors."

Indeed, the attorney said that 25 of the 120 allegations he received are from people who were minors at the time of the incident, adding, “We will pursue this matter no matter who the evidence implicates.”

In response to the growing allegations against their client, another of Combs’ lawyers Erica Wolff emphasized that they cannot address every “meritless” claim. 

“As Mr. Combs' legal team has emphasized, he cannot address every meritless allegation in what has become a reckless media circus," she said in a statement to E! News. “That said, Mr. Combs emphatically and categorically denies as false and defamatory any claim that he sexually abused anyone, including minors.”

Keep reading to untangle the extent of Combs’ legal trouble.

Federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed search warrants at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Los Angeles and Miami properties on March 25, multiple law enforcement sources confirmed to NBC News.  

The sources told the outlet the warrant was out of the Southern District of New York, and a spokesperson for HSI New York confirmed to E! News it “executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami, and our local law enforcement partners.” 

Law enforcement sources told NBC News the music mogul was in the Miami area when the search warrants were executed. 

News about the investigation broke after Combs faced allegations of sexual misconduct in lawsuits filed by multiple accusers starting in November, with the musician denying the allegations. 

“Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday,” he wrote in a December statement posted on Instagram. “Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.” 

The day after HSI executed the search warrants at Combs' L.A. and Miami properties, his lawyer spoke out. 

"Yesterday, there was a gross overuse of military-level force as search warrants were executed at Mr. Combs' residences," attorney Aaron Dyer said in a March 26 statement to E! News. "There is no excuse for the excessive show of force and hostility exhibited by authorities or the way his children and employees were treated." 

Dyer noted Combs “was never detained but spoke to and cooperated with authorities.”  

“Despite media speculation, neither Mr. Combs nor any of his family members have been arrested nor has their ability to travel been restricted in any way,” his lawyer's statement continued. “This unprecedented ambush—paired with an advanced, coordinated media presence—leads  to a premature rush to judgment of Mr. Combs and is nothing more than a witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits.” 

And Dyer expressed Combs' intent to defend himself.

“There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations,” he added. “Mr. Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every single day to clear his name.”

As for what actually went down during the searches, multiple law enforcement sources familiar with the warrant told NBC News authorities with the Department of Homeland Security seized phones from Combs’ home in Miami before he was scheduled to travel to the Bahamas, and several sources familiar with the matter added that guns were discovered during the search.

One source familiar with the matter also told NBC News three women and one man were interviewed by prosecutors and investigators from the Southern District of New York about allegations of sex trafficking, sexual assault, the solicitation and distribution of illegal narcotics and firearms purportedly tied to Combs.

On the same day the search warrants were executed at Combs’ Miami and Los Angeles properties, one of his associates, Brendan Paul, was arrested by the Miami-Dade police on suspicion of drug possession, a law enforcement source familiar with the matter told NBC News. 

According to the Miami-Dade arrest affidavit obtained by the outlet, Paul was taken into custody for allegedly possessing suspected cocaine and suspected marijuana candy. 

Prison records obtained by NBC News show Paul was released on March 26 after posting bond.

“We do not plan on trying this case in the media,” Paul’s attorney Brian Bieber said in a statement obtained by the outlet, “all issues will be dealt with in court.” 

In May, Paul accepted a plea deal, with his lawyer Bieber telling People, "Brendan accepted the prosecutor’s offer to permit his entry into the diversion program which, after completion, the case against him will be dismissed in its entirety."

He was arrested in the lobby of a New York hotel on Sept. 16, 2024, according to NBC News. It's unclear what Combs has been charged with and if the arrest has any potential connection to the raids.

“We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office," his lawyer Marc Agnifilo said in a statement to E! News. "He is an imperfect person but Is not criminal. To his credit Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges."

After Combs was arrested based on the sealed indictment, the indictment was unsealed on Sept. 17.

The 54-year-old was charged with racketeering conspiracy; sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; as well as transportation to engage in prostitution, according to court documents obtained by NBC News.

The indictment alleged Combs “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct” for more than a decade, with prosecutors saying the purported behavior started around 2008.

"To do so," the documents stated, "Combs relied on the employees, resources, and influence of the multi-faceted business empire that he led and controlled—creating a criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in, and attempted to engage in, among other crimes, sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice."

According to NBC News, Combs pleaded not guilty and was denied bail.

“He’s going to fight this with all of his energy and all of his might,” his attorney Marc Agnifilo told reporters outside the courthouse prior to the arraignment, “and the full confidence of his lawyers."

Following his arrest, Combs was held at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center where he was denied a $50 million bond. The music mogul was also placed on suicide watch, which a source told E! News is a customary procedure for high-profile inmates. He was since taken off. 

He was assigned the same area of the jail as cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried, a source told NBC News. 

Comedian Jeff Wittek, 34, came forward Sept. 29 to say he attended one of Diddy's "freak off" parties around 2010 in a Miami mansion.

"It was like eight stories high and it just kept going up," Wittek said on Jeff FM, "and the higher you went, the weirder s--t was going on."

"I saw live sex happen that night," he continued. "That's the first time I saw that happen ever in my life. And did I partake? No, but I got f--king drunk there."

As Wittek put it, "It's just crazy. I was literally there. I lived through it."

In an Oct. 1 press conference, attorney Tony Buzbee detailed that 120 people had come forward with new sexual assault allegations against the rapper. 

The allegations against Combs, Buzbee noted in a press conference with NBC News, include, "violent sexual assault or rape, facilitated sex with a controlled substance, dissemination of video recordings, sexual abuse of minors."

A lawyer for the rapper, Erica Wolff, later responded to the allegations, emphasizing that Combs maintains his innocence. 

“He cannot address every meritless allegation in what has become a reckless media circus," she said. "That said, Mr. Combs emphatically and categorically denies as false and defamatory any claim that he sexually abused anyone, including minors."

One of the 120 accusers was only 9 years old when they were allegedly assaulted by Combs, their lawyer Tony Buzbee said in an Oct. 1 press conference, per NBC News.

According to the attorney, “25 of the accusers were minors at the time of the alleged incidents."

Beyoncé and Jay-Z's lawyer spoke out after Piers Morgan's TV guest Jaguar Wright claimed the couple had more “victims” than Diddy.

"There’s rumors, and then there’s nonsense, and this is one step further,” lawyer Alex Spiro told TMZ Oct. 9. “This is a formal and pointed accusation of something.”

Their attorney told Piers to “remove that false accusation," which the host later did and apologized. 

“As I noted in the moment," Piers said on his Oct. 8  show, "they were not present to respond or defend themselves. But now they have: their lawyer has contacted us to say those claims are totally false and have no basis in fact.”