American justice announced Friday that it would render its decision next week on rapper P. Diddy’s request for parole in a gigantic case in which he is accused of sex trafficking, American media reported.
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Sean Combs, his real name, will face a criminal trial in May 2025 at the federal level for having, according to the prosecution, put his musical “empire” at the service of a violent system of trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation and ‘extortion. The highly influential rapper and producer has pleaded not guilty and says he is innocent.
Judges twice refused his release on bail. Prosecutors claimed, in opposing the third request on Friday, that P. Diddy had contacted witnesses and used unauthorized communication platforms during his incarceration, according to American media which closely follows this high-profile case.
The court will rule on the latest request for bail next week, and the rapper will remain in prison in the meantime, said the New York Times.
Long a key figure in the hip-hop scene and more generally in the music industry, P. Diddy appeared dressed as a detainee before the judge of a Manhattan court, in the presence of members of his family.
“Your son is a predator!” passersby shouted to Janice Combs, the rapper’s mother.
The latter has seen its star fade since the revelation in the fall of 2023 of several complaints, in particular accusations of rape emanating from the R&B singer Cassie, a procedure which was finally settled by an “amicable” agreement, according to both parties.
Other complainants described him as a violent sexual predator who used alcohol and drugs to obtain their submission.
The rapper has always denied these accusations.
With his label Bad Boy Records, founded in 1993, Sean Combs contributed to the inclusion of hip-hop in global popular culture, notably bringing to the fore the singer Mary J. Blige and Notorious BIG, a rap icon assassinated in 1997.
