Rapper Sean Diddy Combs is facing dozens of new sexual assault allegations in a series of lawsuits to be filed, NBC News reports, UNN writes.
Details
At a press conference held on Tuesday, Texas lawyer Tony Buzby said that he represents 120 accusers who accuse the entertainment mogul of events that occurred more than 20 years ago.
"We will expose the enablers who facilitated this behavior behind closed doors. We will pursue this matter regardless of who the evidence points to," Buzbi said during a press conference.
"A lot of influential people... a lot of dirty secrets," the lawyer said of the charges. He added that his team "collected photos, videos, texts".
Buzbi added that the charges will include: "brutal sexual assault or rape, promoting sex with controlled substances, distribution of videos, sexual abuse of minors.
"It's already a long list, but because of the nature of this case, we're going to make damn sure we're right before we do it," Buzby continued. - "These names are going to shock you.
The lawyer said that more than 3,000 people have come to his office with allegations against Combs, and that he plans to start filing lawsuits in various states within the next 30 days. He added that the names of the other defendants would be announced later.
Among this new group of accusers, Buzbee said, 62% identify as African American, and they hail from more than 25 states, most of them from New York, California, Georgia and Florida. Buzbee said that 25 of the accusers were minors at the time of the alleged incidents, some of which were as early as 1991. The lawyer also said that one of the accusers was only 9 years old at the time of the incident.
"As Mr. Combs' legal team has emphasized, he cannot address every baseless allegation in what has become a reckless media circus. Nevertheless, Mr. Combs strongly and categorically denies as false and defamatory any allegation that he sexually assaulted anyone, including minors," said Erica Wolf, the rapper's attorney, in a statement. - "He looks forward to the opportunity to prove his innocence and vindicate himself in court if and when lawsuits are filed, where the truth will be determined based on evidence, not speculation.
Addendum
Combs is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, after prosecutors in the Southern District of New York charged Combs with sex trafficking, racketeering, and transporting persons for prostitution in an indictment unsealed last month. Combs has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers have said he is innocent of all charges.
Combs was denied bail twice, but on Monday his legal team, which now includes attorney Alexandra Shapiro, Tini Geragos and Mark Agnifilo, filed the first documents ahead of his bail appeal.
Many of the lawsuits against Combs were filed in New York, which has a law protecting victims of gender-based violence, allowing people to file sexual assault claims even after the statute of limitations has expired.