Sean 'Diddy' Combs jury decides on some counts; verdict not yet known
NEW YORK (Reuters) -The jury at Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking trial has reached a verdict on four of the five counts the music mogul faces, the judge overseeing the case said on Tuesday, without revealing the outcome.
After two days of deliberation, the jury reached a verdict on four charges: two counts of sex trafficking and two of transportation to engage in prostitution, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian announced.
But the judge said the jury had not been able to reach a verdict on a fifth charge, racketeering conspiracy, because jurors had "unpersuadable opinions on both sides."
He instructed the jury to continue deliberating on the racketeering conspiracy count. The jury will resume deliberations at 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT) on Wednesday.
Combs, 55, had pleaded not guilty to all five counts. If convicted of sex trafficking or racketeering, the former billionaire known for elevating hip-hop in American culture could face life in prison.
Before Subramanian read the jury's note, Combs rubbed his eyes and rested his face against his palm while seated at the defense table with his lawyers huddled around him. One defense lawyer, Brian Steel, rubbed Combs' shoulder. Two of Combs' other defense lawyers put their arms around each other.
The partial verdict comes after a seven-week trial in which two of the music mogul's former girlfriends testified that he physically and sexually abused them.
Prosecutors say Combs was charged with racketeering because for two decades he used his business empire to force two of his romantic partners to take part in drug-fueled, days-long sexual performances sometimes known as "Freak Offs" with male sex workers in hotel rooms while Combs watched, masturbated and occasionally filmed.
His lawyers acknowledged that the Bad Boy Records founder, once famed for hosting lavish parties for the cultural elite in luxurious locales like the Hamptons and Saint-Tropez, was at times violent in his domestic relationships. But they said the sexual activity described by prosecutors was consensual.
JURY ASKS TO REVIEW CASSIE'S TESTIMONY
Earlier on Tuesday, the jury asked to review portions of the testimony of the rhythm and blues singer Casandra "Cassie" Ventura, who testified that Combs forced her to take part in "Freak Offs" throughout their decade-long relationship.
The 12-member jury asked to review Ventura's testimony regarding a 2016 incident at an InterContinental hotel in Los Angeles, when a surveillance camera captured footage of Combs kicking and dragging Ventura in a hallway.
Jurors saw the security camera footage several times throughout the trial. Prosecutors say that at the time of the incident, Ventura was attempting to leave a "Freak Off," Combs' term for a drug-fueled sex marathon in which he would watch Ventura have sex with a paid male escort while he masturbated and sometimes filmed.
Prosecutors say that conduct amounted to sex trafficking because Combs used force and threats to cut off financial support or release sex tapes of Ventura to coerce her to take part in the performances, and because the escorts were paid.
Combs' defense pointed to tender and sexually explicit text messages that Ventura sent Combs throughout their relationship to bolster their argument that she took part in the "Freak Offs" because she loved Combs and wanted to make him happy.
They say the violent 2016 altercation stemmed from a dispute about Combs' relationship with another woman.
Prosecutors charged Combs with racketeering conspiracy because they say his employees facilitated his abuse by setting up hotel rooms for "Freak Offs" and procuring illegal drugs for the sex parties. The defense argued that Combs kept his personal and professional lives separate, and that the drugs were for his personal use.
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Combs' lawyers displayed messages showing her setting up "hotel nights." Jane said she felt pressured and that she had grown financially dependent on Combs. In the prosecution's closing arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik described Combs as "the leader of a criminal enterprise. He doesn't take no for an answer. And now you know about many crimes he committed with members of his enterprise." She said he used a "small army" of employees to harm women and then cover it up. "He thought that his fame, wealth and power put him above the law," Slavik said. Agnifilo countered by arguing that prosecutors "badly exaggerated" evidence of a swinger lifestyle and threesomes, combining it with recreational drug use and calling it a racketeering conspiracy. "He did not do the things he's charged with. He didn't do racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking," Combs' lawyer said. 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