Male Escort 'The Punisher' Backs Diddy's Mixed Verdict, Believes He Swayed The Jury In Rapper's Favor

Yahoo

a day ago

A prosecution witness in the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs has publicly shared his agreement with the verdict reached by the jury in the case.
Sharay Hayes, the exotic male dancer and former escort also known as "The Punisher," says he believes the jury made the right call and that he may have helped the hip-hop mogul secure a not-guilty verdict on three charges.
Hayes testified that he was hired multiple times by Diddy and his ex-partner, Cassandra "Cassie" Ventura, for hours-long "sexy scenes," but that he "didn't see it as anything" and could have passed it for a "couple doing something risqué."
Following the verdict reached in the federal trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs, a male escort whom the embattled rapper hired to partake in "freak offs" with Cassie, is throwing his weight behind the decision.
Sharay Hayes, a.k.a "The Punisher," said that he believes the jury made the right call after they found Diddy guilty of 2 counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, but found him not guilty on the more serious sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
According to TMZ, Hayes notes that he saw Diddy's case from the lens of a toxic relationship filled with domestic violence, but that he didn't think the prosecution's claims of sex trafficking held weight.
Hayes, who testified in Diddy's trial, further suggested that he might have "influenced" the jury's decision to acquit the "Finna Get Loose" rapper on the sex trafficking charges, adding that the rapper was in a long-term relationship with Cassie and his anonymous accuser, and there was a "certain amount of consent" involved.
"In regards to her situation, directly with me being one of the two guys that they brought up to corroborate, obviously, my experience would not lead you to believe somebody was sex trafficked," Hayes told the news outlet.
Despite his agreement with the verdict, the male escort expressed sympathy for Cassie and Jane Doe because their intimate bedroom moments were broadcast for all to see.
Hayes maintained the same sentiment in a post-verdict interview with the Daily Mail, saying that although Diddy was a "terrible partner," the government didn't do enough to find him guilty of the more serious charges.
"Honestly, I think today was the proper verdict. I think the jury's decision was the right one based on the law," he told the news outlet. "Was he a terrible partner? Yes, absolutely. He did a lot of things that I'm sure everyone would agree was heinous behavior."
"But that doesn't mean they proved the case that he was guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering. You can't convict someone just for being a bad person," he added.
Weeks before the jury reached a verdict on the charges, Hayes noted that he didn't consider the encounter with Diddy and Cassie criminal at the time, as the singer seemed to be a willing participant.
He told NewsNationNow that although he saw Cassie "sighing or wincing" often, he considered it to be "frustration" with the situation rather than unwillingness to participate.
"It would be suggestive … nothing aggressive, nothing that would create some sort of scenario that this was, like, unnatural between them," Hayes said. "In hindsight, if there were no accusations, I would have seen it as completely natural."
"In the moment, I didn't see it as anything but a couple doing something risqué, and Cassie as a partner trying to create a fantasy for who I believed was her husband," the former stripper noted.
Hayes testified during court sessions that he was hired by the-then couple for drug-fuelled sex orgies known as freak offs, but had never witnessed violence during the sessions he partook in.
Hayes said that he didn't know he was being recorded taking part in the sexual encounters with Diddy and Cassie.
His claims came after tapes of him having sex with Diddy and Cassie were played to jurors in court during the sex crimes trial.
Although his name wasn't mentioned, prosecutors said that one of the video clips shown to the jury was from October 14, 2012, a day Hayes remembers vividly as it was the very first "freak off" session between them.
"I'm shocked that there is a video because whatever video was taken was something that was done candidly without my knowledge," he told the Daily Mail.
"I never saw any video or anything to that degree. So, my first reaction is just shocked that something is out there," Hayes continued.
Diddy endured nearly two months of intense court sessions as the government sought to prove he was guilty of sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution following his arrest on September 16 last year.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges and was denied bail several times. The jury finally reached a verdict in the case on Wednesday, July 2, acquitting him of racketeering, sex trafficking of Cassie, and sex trafficking of Jane.
Diddy was, however, found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, with each count carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Despite the mostly positive outcome for Diddy, his attempt to secure bail again after the jury's verdict was denied by Judge Arun Subramanian, due to his "propensity for violence."