Sean Combs Won’t be Charged in Alleged Security Video Attack on Cassie Ventura

A shocking video released Friday that purports to show multiply accused sexual assailant Sean Combs assaulting his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, will not be used to charge the mogul with domestic violence, prosecutors have acknowledged.

According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, though the footage is “extremely disturbing and difficult to watch,” the incident depicted appears to fall outside California’s five-year statute of limitations, which means he can’t be charged for that attack—but they’re not ruling out charges for any other, more timely crimes.

The video, which was first published by CNN, shows a man the outlet identifies as Sean Combs (who also goes by “Diddy”) kicking, shoving, and striking Ventura during a stay at a hotel CNN says is the InterContinental Hotel in LA’s Century City. (That hotel temporarily closed in March 2020, a shutter that was made permanent a year later.) Vanity Fair has reached out to representatives for Combs for comment, but has not received a response as of publication time.

Complied from hotel security video dated March 5, 2016, the footage appears to reflect an incident described in Ventura’s lawsuit against Combs, which also accused him of rape and sexual assault. Ventura, a model and singer who met Combs when she was 19 and he was 37, was in a relationship with the mogul between 2007 – 2018. She filed suit against Combs in federal court in November 2023, saying then that Combs had paid hotel staff $50,000 for the video evidence of the alleged assault.

A day after filing that suit, it was settled for an unknown figure. Combs continued to deny Ventura’s claims against him, however, saying through attorney Ben Brafman that the musician “has been subjected to Ms. Ventura’s persistent demand of $30 million, under the threat of writing a damaging book about their relationship, which was unequivocally rejected as blatant blackmail.”

“Despite withdrawing her initial threat, Ms. Ventura has now resorted to filing a lawsuit riddled with baseless and outrageous lies, aiming to tarnish Mr. Combs’ reputation and seeking a payday,” he continued. Ventura’s attorney, Douglas Wigdor, quickly shot back, saying “Mr. Combs offered Ms. Ventura eight figures to silence her and prevent the filing of this lawsuit. She rejected his efforts and decided to give a voice to all women who suffer in silence. Ms. Ventura should be applauded for her bravery.”

Following the settlement, Brafman reiterated his client’s claims of innocence, saying that “A decision to settle a lawsuit, especially in 2023, is in no way an admission of wrongdoing. Mr. Combs‘ decision to settle the lawsuit does not in any way undermine his flat-out denial of the claims. He is happy they got to a mutual settlement and wishes Ms. Ventura the best.”

Since Ventura’s suit, a number of other women have come forward with allegations against Combs, all of which he denies. “I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy,” Combs said in late 2023. “Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”

Despite those denials, federal agents raided Combs’s Los Angeles and Miami homes in March, as part of an investigation into allegations of human trafficking. According to ABC News, law enforcement “found guns in both locations and seized multiple electronic devices as federal prosecutors in New York work to corroborate allegations of sexual assault and sex trafficking against Combs.” Citing the “ongoing investigation,” a spokesperson with the Department of Homeland Security declined to give an update on the case. As of publication time, Combs has not been charged as a result of those raids, and he’s continued to deny all wrongdoing.

Friday’s video isn’t related to the federal probe into Combs’s alleged actions, but it’s arguably increased scrutiny of the 54-year-old musician and entrepreneur. Speaking with the LA Times, Los Angeles defense attorney Lou Shapiro—who does not count Combs as a client—says “This video paints him in an awful light. If the people were giving him the benefit of the doubt, that is over.”

However, even if Combs admitted to the acts seen in the video, LA prosecutors’ hands are tied. At five years, California’s statute of limitations for domestic violence charges is one of the longer ones in the country. But even that time limit excludes the events as depicted in the video. (It’s also worth noting that the state’s expansion of limitations went into effect in 2020; all crimes prior to that are subject to the state’s previous limit of one year.)

Likely deluged with calls to open a case against Combs, the DA’s office released a statement explaining all this late Friday. “We are aware of the video that has been circulating online allegedly depicting Sean Combs assaulting a young woman in Los Angeles,” they wrote. “We find the images extremely disturbing and difficult to watch.”

“If the conduct depicted occurred in 2016, unfortunately we would be unable to charge as the conduct would have occurred beyond the timeline where a crime of assault can be prosecuted,” the DA’s office continued. “As of today, law enforcement has not presented a case related to the attack depicted in the video against Mr. Combs, but we encourage anyone who has been a victim or witness to a crime to report it to law enforcement or reach out to our office for support from our Bureau of Victims Services.”