Sean “Diddy” Combs is the subject of a “locked” criminal investigation that may involve sexual assault.
TMZ broke the news of the case, citing law enforcement sources who said it was a sensitive case with restricted access, the day after news broke that Combs’ ex, Casandra Ventura — know professionally as Cassie — had filed an explosive lawsuit against the hip hop mogul alleging rape and sex trafficking.
“After years in silence and darkness, I am finally ready to tell my story, and to speak up on behalf of myself and for the benefit of other women who face violence and abuse in their relationships,” Ventura, 37, said in a statement about her lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, CrimeOnline reported.
According to the lawsuit, Ventura claims that Combs, also known as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, lured her into a professional relationship in 2005, when she was 19 and he was 37, by signing her to his Bad Boy Records label. Over the course of time, the suit says, he induced her into a sexual relationship that included requiring “her to procure illicit prescriptions to satisfy his own addictions.
TMZ inquired about the possible criminal case with the New York Police Department, which responded with a statement saying it “takes sexual assault and rape cases extremely seriously, and urges anyone who has been a victim to file a police report so we can perform a comprehensive investigation, and aoffer support and services to survivors.”
TMZ found reference to the case while contacting numerous jurisdictions mentioned in Ventura’s lawsuit — including Miami, Beverly Hills, and Los Angeles — but only New York appeared to have an investigation under the name “Sean Combs.”
Combs’ attorney vehemently denied Ventura’s claims and all but called her a gold digger seeking to “to tarnish Mr. Combs’ reputation.” Ventura’s attorney countered by claiming the singer offered her eight figures to keep quiet, but she declined.
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[Featured image: Cassie Ventura, left, and Sean “Diddy” Combs arrive at the Los Angeles premiere of “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A Bad Boy Story” at the Writers Guild Theater on Wednesday, June 21, 2017, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)]
