CASSIE’S MOTHER TESTIFIES ON THREATS, ABUSE BY SEAN ‘DIDDY’ COMBS IN SEX TRAFFICKING TRIAL
Read Time:2 Minute, 5 Second
By Aishat Momoh. O.
Regina Ventura, mother of singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, took the witness stand Tuesday to recount the threats, violence, and emotional toll her daughter endured during her decade-long relationship with music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Her testimony came after days of harrowing accounts from Cassie herself, who is a central witness in the federal sex trafficking case against Combs. The 55-year-old hip-hop icon faces serious charges of operating an illegal sex ring that allegedly relied on coercion, drug-fueled sex acts, and violence—including arson, kidnapping, and bribery—to maintain control over its victims.
On Monday, prosecutors questioned Ventura about an email Cassie sent her on December 23, 2011, in which the singer disclosed threats Combs allegedly made after learning of her relationship with rapper Kid Cudi (Scott Mescudi). Cassie testified last week that Combs became enraged upon discovering the relationship and threatened to release explicit sex tapes and have her and Cudi physically harmed.
Reading the email aloud, Ventura quoted her daughter: “The threats that have been made to me by Sean Puffy Combs are that he is going to release two explicit tapes of me.” The email further described Combs’s threats to use physical violence against both Cassie and Cudi.
“I felt physically sick,” Ventura told the court. “I did not understand it—the sex tape threw me.”
Defense attorneys sought to discredit Cassie’s testimony, suggesting her participation in Combs’s infamous sex parties—referred to in court as “freak-offs”—was voluntary. However, Ventura said the dynamic was one of coercion and fear.
She also revealed that Combs, despite his vast wealth—currently estimated at $700 million by Forbes—once demanded $20,000 from Cassie to recoup expenses. The amount was eventually paid, her mother said, explaining it was done to ensure her daughter’s “safety.”
Ventura confirmed that around the same period in 2011, Cassie showed signs of physical abuse. “She was bruised. We wanted to make sure we’d memorialized (that) she was beaten by Sean Combs,” she said.
Combs, once hailed as a driving force in mainstream hip-hop and a successful entrepreneur in music, fashion, and spirits, has pleaded not guilty to all charges. His legal team concedes that the relationship with Cassie involved domestic violence but denies that it amounted to sex trafficking.
Now facing the possibility of life imprisonment, the once-celebrated music mogul appeared visibly diminished after months behind bars, as the high-stakes trial continues to unfold.
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0