A former personal assistant to Sean Combs testified on Thursday that she was sexually assaulted by her boss, describing a work environment that could descend into violence and chaos.
“The highs were really high and the lows were really, really low,” she testified at Mr. Combs’s racketeering and sex-trafficking trial.
The woman is taking the stand under the pseudonym “Mia.” Prosecutors have previewed her testimony for jurors by saying that she would “tell you about the times that the defendant 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.”
Previous witnesses have described Mia as part of Mr. Combs’s entourage and a friend of Casandra Ventura, the music mogul’s on-and-off girlfriend of 11 years, whose testimony about violence and marathon sexual encounters with male prostitutes, known as “freak-offs,” are at the heart of the government’s case.
Mr. Combs is not accused of sex trafficking Mia but of subjecting her to forced labor — including sexual activity — through violence and threats of serious harm. The forced labor allegation is part of a broader racketeering conspiracy charge that accuses Mr. Combs of directing a criminal enterprise that helped him commit crimes and cover them up over two decades.
Mr. Combs has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges against him. His lawyers have acknowledged that he was responsible for domestic violence, but they vehemently denied the existence of a criminal conspiracy, asserting that he was the head of entirely lawful businesses that were disconnected from his private sex life. They have argued that the sex at issue in the case was entirely consensual.
In the defense’s opening statement, Teny Geragos, a lawyer for Mr. Combs, said the upcoming cross-examination of Mia will surface messages she wrote to Mr. Combs throughout her employment expressing her “unbelievable love” for him.
Before Mia took the stand, the defense finished its cross-examination of Deonte Nash, a stylist who worked with Mr. Combs and Ms. Ventura for years, and maintains a close friendship with Ms. Ventura.
Mr. Nash is a critical witness for the prosecution because he said he saw Mr. Combs repeatedly beat Ms. Ventura, and that Ms. Ventura confided in him several times that she did not want to participate in the “freak-offs” that prosecutors say Mr. Combs demanded and directed.
Xavier Donaldson, a lawyer for Mr. Combs, questioned Mr. Nash at length about what he saw of the couple’s relationship during his years in their orbit. Mr. Donaldson focused on a time that Mr. Nash said he left a hotel room at Ms. Ventura’s request because Mr. Combs “wanted to invite a guy over.” Mr. Donaldson highlighted that Mr. Nash left without protest, suggesting that he must not have had concern for Ms. Ventura’s safety at the time.
“I always did,” Mr. Nash replied, though he acknowledged that he exited the room anyway.
The cross-examination became animated as Mr. Donaldson began inquiring about a flirtation Ms. Ventura had with the actor Michael B. Jordan in 2015 that is said to have spurred Mr. Combs’s jealousy. Mr. Nash cut in: “Yes, I did hook her up with Michael B. Jordan — I know where you’re going with this.”
The defense has argued that Mr. Combs’s violence toward Ms. Ventura was motivated by jealousy and drug use, not issues related to sexual coercion.
Mr. Nash detailed several instances in which he said he witnessed Mr. Combs physically abuse Ms. Ventura — including one incident involving Mia.
In 2013, Mr. Nash said, he and Mia were helping Ms. Ventura pack for a music festival when Mr. Combs knocked on her apartment door and expressed anger that Ms. Ventura, who had been sleeping on the couch, had not answered her phone. Mr. Nash testified that Mr. Combs grabbed Ms. Ventura by the hair, pulled her off the couch and started hitting her.
“He was in a rage,” Mr. Nash said.
As Mr. Combs’s attack continued, Mr. Nash jumped on the music mogul’s back to try to subdue him but was thrown off, he testified, and then Mia did the same. Mr. Nash said Mr. Combs continued to hit Ms. Ventura, stopping only after her head hit the edge of a bed frame and she began to bleed. As everyone in the room realized the severity of Ms. Ventura’s injury, Mr. Nash recalled, Mr. Combs told them “look what y’all made me do.”
Anusha Bayya contributed reporting.
Julia Jacobs is an arts and culture reporter who often covers legal issues for The Times.
Joe Coscarelli is a culture reporter for The Times who focuses on popular music and a co-host of the Times podcast “Popcast (Deluxe).”
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