NEW YORK (NewsNation) — A May 5 trial date was set Thursday for hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs to face sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
Combs appeared before Judge Arun Subramanian in Manhattan federal court. After entering the courtroom, he hugged each of his lawyers.
The judge also set deadlines for lawyers on each side to submit arguments that will establish the boundaries for the trial, which Combs’ lawyers had wanted to start in April or May.
The judge was assigned to the case after another judge recused himself based on his past associations with lawyers in the case.
Diddy investigation
Combs, 54, has pleaded not guilty to charges lodged against him last month. Those charges included racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking based on allegations that go back to 2008.
Prosecutors laid out the case against Combs in a grand jury indictment. He is accused of using his music empire to engage in sex trafficking and of having a pattern of abusing women.
The indictment says Combs often lured victims by promising a romantic relationship before using threats, intimidation and abuse to get them to engage in various sexual activities. Those included so-called “Freak Offs” where victims were directed to engage in extended sex acts with male sex workers on film.
Prosecutors allege Combs drugged victims during those sessions and sometimes kept the footage without the victim being aware he was doing so. They also say the physical exertion was such that Combs and victims often required IV fluids afterward.
Diddy in jail
His lawyers have been trying unsuccessfully to get the founder of Bad Boy Records released on bail since his Sept. 16 arrest.
Two judges have concluded Combs is a danger to the community if freed. At a bail hearing three weeks ago, a judge rejected a $50 million bail package, including home detention and electronic monitoring, after concluding that Combs was a threat to tamper with witnesses and obstruct a continuing investigation.
NewsNation’s Safia Samee Ali contributed to this report.
