Accused sex trafficker Sean “Diddy” Combs has been denied bond for the fourth time since his September 16 arrest.
The hip hop mogul is desperate to get out of jail while he awaits trial, but now multiple judges have ruled that, as Judge Arun Subramanian said in his ruling on Wednesday, “no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the safety of the community” if Combs is released, ABC News reported.
Combs is charged in federal court with racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution, as CrimeOnline has reported. His arrest came six months after federal agents raided Combs’ homes in California and Florida, and those raids came four months after his ex-girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie Ventura, accused him of sex trafficking and abuse in a multi-million dollar lawsuit that was settled the day after it was filed.
Since that time, however, multiple lawsuits have been filed accusing the rapper of trafficking, rape, drugging victims, and pimping them out to other men.
Additionally, in May, a video was leaked showing Combs chasing down Ventura in a hotel hallway and assaulting her in 2016. Subramanian cited that video in his ruling on Wednesday, although Combs’ attorneys said in Friday’s hearing on the matter that the video had been edited and manipulated.
“There is clearly violence even in the version of the footage submitted by Combs.” the judge said in his ruling.
The defense had offered a $50 million package that used his Florida mansion as collateral and would have Combs staying in a three-bedroom Upper East Side apartment with private security, limits on visitors, and restrictions on communications.
“Given the nature of the allegations in this case and the information provided by the government, the Court doubts the sufficiency of any conditions that place trust in Combs and individuals in his employ — like a private security detail — to follow those conditions,” Subramanian wrote.
The judge also cited “evidence supporting a serious risk of witness tampering, including Combs’ repeated calls and texts with witnesses and using phone access codes of other inmates at MDC-Brooklyn, where he is being held.
“[Combs’] willingness to skirt BOP rules in a way that would make it more difficult for his communications to be monitored is strong evidence that the Court cannot be reasonably assure[d] as to the sufficiency of any conditions of release,” Subramanian said.
A federal magistrate, the previous district court judge assigned to the case, and an appeals court judge all turned down Combs’ request for bond before Subramanian did so.
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[Featured image: Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File]
