Lawyers for hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs will appear in court on Wednesday to challenge a judge’s ruling that denied Mr Combs bail after he pleaded not guilty in a sex-trafficking case.A New York federal judge remanded the musician in custody on Tuesday after prosecutors argued he was a “serious flight risk”.Mr Combs, 54, was arrested on Monday evening, accused of running a criminal enterprise from at least 2008 that relied on drugs and violence to force women to “fulfill his sexual desires”, according to prosecutors.A 14-page indictment charges him with racketeering, sex trafficking by force, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
If convicted on all three counts, the rapper and record producer faces a sentence of 15 years up to life in prison.He was wearing a black T-shirt and grey sweatpants during Tuesday’s court appearance in Manhattan.Asked by US Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky how he wished to plead, Mr Combs stood up and said: “not guilty”.Mr Combs’s lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said afterwards that the musician’s defence team already had launched an appeal of the judge’s bail decision.”We believe him wholeheartedly,” Mr Agnifilo told reporters outside the Manhattan court. “He didn’t do these things.”
According to court documents, Mr Combs “wielded the power” of his status to “lure female victims… to engage in extended sex acts” called “Freak Offs”.”During Freak Offs, Combs distributed a variety of controlled substances to victims, in part to keep the victims obedient and compliant,” the indictment said.In a news briefing, US prosecutor Damian Williams said officials found firearms, ammunition and more than 1,000 bottles of lubricant during raids on Mr Combs’s homes in Miami and Los Angeles, about six months ago.Mr Williams said federal agents also found three semi-automatic rifles with defaced serial numbers, and a drum magazine.He told reporters that further charges were possible, without offering details.Mr Agnifilo, the musician’s lawyer, maintained, “there’s no coercion and no crime.””He’s not afraid of the charges,” he said, adding that he believed Mr Combs was the target of “an unjust prosecution”.
