Diddy Hit with Two New Lawsuits Alleging Sexual Assault of Minors
Hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is facing two new lawsuits alleging sexual assault, this time involving a 10-year-old boy and a 17-year-old aspiring musician, The Associated Press reports.
The lawsuits were filed on Monday in New York State Supreme Court, adding to the growing number of accusations against Combs.
The first lawsuit claims that in 2005, Combs drugged and sexually assaulted a 10-year-old aspiring actor and rapper in a New York City hotel room. The boy, who remains anonymous, was in the city with his parents for meetings with music industry representatives. The suit alleges that during a supposed audition for Combs, a Combs associate gave the boy a drug-laced soda, after which Combs sexually assaulted him. The boy reportedly lost consciousness and was threatened by Combs, who warned him not to tell anyone about the assault or his parents would be harmed.
The second lawsuit involves a 17-year-old male, also unnamed, who was auditioning for the reality television show “Making the Band” in 2008. The lawsuit claims that Combs, who produced the show, forced the aspiring contestant into sexual acts with him and a bodyguard during a three-day audition. When the young man expressed reluctance, he was eliminated from the competition and barred from the music industry for seven years, the lawsuit alleges.
Both lawsuits were filed under New York City’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act, which allows survivors to bring lawsuits even if the statute of limitations has passed.
Combs’ lawyers have vehemently denied the allegations, calling them “false and defamatory” and accusing the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Anthony Buzbee, of seeking publicity. They maintain that Combs has never assaulted anyone, and that the truth will prevail in court.
Combs, currently incarcerated in a New York City jail, is already facing federal sex trafficking charges. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in September, which accuse him of coercing and abusing women and silencing victims through blackmail and violence.
