Jurors at Sean Combs’s sex-trafficking and racketeering trial have heard gripping testimony from Casandra Ventura, the singer known as Cassie, who described in lurid detail the violence and coerced sex that she suffered at the hand of the music mogul.
On Wednesday, they are set to hear from a second woman, testifying under the pseudonym “Mia,” who prosecutors say had her own harrowing experience with Mr. Combs.
For months before trial, little was disclosed about Mia — then identified only as “Victim-4” — other than that she is a former Combs employee who prosecutors say was coerced into sex with him. In one filing last month, the government redacted virtually an entire page-long passage about her.
But in opening statements this month, lawyers for both sides fleshed out the woman’s profile somewhat. Emily A. Johnson, a prosecutor, described Mia as a former personal assistant whom Mr. Combs “worked to the bone for years.” At some point, she said, he then “forced himself on her sexually, putting his hand up her dress, unzipping his pants and forcing her to perform oral sex, and sneaking into her bed to penetrate her against her will.”
“Mia will tell you how she could not talk about what happened to her until recently,” Ms. Johnson added, “how she wanted to take the secret of what the defendant did to her to her grave.”
Mr. Combs, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, has denied having anything but consensual sex with women, and his defense team has suggested it will pursue that approach in countering the testimony of Mia when she appears on Wednesday, likely in the afternoon.
Teny Geragos, a lawyer for Mr. Combs, asked jurors to “evaluate” what motives Mia may have in testifying, and indicated that the defense, as they did with Ms. Ventura, may use texts messages or other communications in an effort to undermine her testimony on the stand.
“What are the reasons she is saying what she might be saying now, what she never said before, and certainly never said when she first started cooperating with the government?” Ms. Geragos asked in her opening statement. “This is someone you should evaluate her messages carefully, ones of unbelievable love for Combs throughout her employment.”
Mia has also been cited by a number of witnesses throughout the trial, suggesting that she may be asked to corroborate accusations made by Ms. Ventura and others.
The core of Mia’s testimony is expected to relate to the racketeering conspiracy charge against Mr. Combs. That charge, which carries a possible life sentence, alleges that the music mogul operated a “criminal enterprise” in which employees, including security guards and high-ranking executives of his companies, carried out crimes on Mr. Combs’s behalf and helped cover them up.
Among the crimes that the government cites as being part of this enterprise are sex trafficking, arson, bribery, forced labor and obstruction of justice. In the case of Mia, the indictment alleges that Mr. Combs “obtained the forced labor of one of his employees (‘Victim-4’), including sexual activity with the defendant, through force and threats of serious harm.”
Prosecutors told the judge that on Wednesday they also intend to call a Los Angeles police officer as well as an arson investigator from the Los Angeles Fire Department, who are expected to speak about an incident involving the rapper Scott Mescudi, better known as Kid Cudi. He testified last week that Mr. Combs, angry that Mr. Mescudi was dating his estranged girlfriend, Ms. Ventura, had entered Mr. Mescudi’s Los Angeles home without permission and later directed the destruction of his Porsche convertible with a Molotov cocktail.
Another former aide to Mr. Combs, Capricorn Clark, testified on Tuesday that he had threatened to kill Mr. Mescudi out of jealous rage. Lawyers for Mr. Combs have said their client was “simply not involved” in the arson incident outlined in the indictment.
Ben Sisario, a reporter covering music and the music industry, has been writing for The Times for more than 20 years.
Julia Jacobs is an arts and culture reporter who often covers legal issues for The Times.
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