Rap mogul Sean Combs sued for sex trafficking, sex assault

Superstar rapper and music industry mogul Sean Combs has been sued by a former adult film star for sexual assault and sex trafficking, court filings showed.

Combs is the target of several civil lawsuits that characterize him as a violent sexual predator who used alcohol and drugs to subdue his victims, and his homes were raided this year by federal agents.

The hip-hop artist, known as both Puff Daddy or Diddy, used actress Adria English as a "sexual pawn for the pleasure and financial benefit of others" during his lavish "White Parties" in the Hamptons and Florida between 2004 and 2009, the complaint alleges.

The latest lawsuit, filed in Manhattan on Wednesday, brings to nine the number of claims against Combs since November 2023.

"Given all the brave individuals who have come forward against Defendant Combs, (English) is doing the same," the complaint said.

English is seeking a jury trial and undisclosed damages, according to her complaint.

"Due to these numerous lawsuits filed against Defendant Combs alleging the same or similar acts, there is now a growing awareness that Defendant Combs was engaging in far more sinister acts than previously known including physical abuse and sex trafficking," the complaint says.

In March armed agents entered Combs' sprawling luxury properties in Miami and Los Angeles, a heavily publicized bicoastal operation that suggested an investigation into the rapper is underway.

Disturbing surveillance video emerged in May showing Combs physically assaulting his then-girlfriend Casandra Ventura, corroborating allegations she made in a now-settled lawsuit late last year.

Ventura sued Combs in federal court last fall, a bombshell suit that was settled out of court but succeeded by a string of similarly lurid sexual assault claims against the hip-hop star.

Combs has vehemently denied all accusations against him. His lawyer did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment on the latest lawsuit.