Producer Sean "Diddy" Combs is facing new allegations of sexual assault, at least the third civil complaint filed against him in as many weeks.
According to new complaint filed Wednesday (US time) and obtained by CNN, Combs is accused of sex trafficking and gang rape, among other allegations, naming him along with Harve Pierre, former president of Combs' company Bad Boy Entertainment, along with a third assailant.
Combs responded to the suit in a statement through his representative Nathalie Moar: "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. For the last couple of weeks, I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy.
"Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth."
CNN has attempted to reach representatives of Bad Boy Entertainment and Pierre for comment on the allegations.
The suit is being brought by a woman referred to in the suit as Jane Doe, who the complaint states was 17 at the time of the alleged assault in 2003. It was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
As a result of the alleged assault, Jane Doe has "suffered significant emotional distress and [feelings] of shame that have plagued her life and personal relationships for 20 years," according to the complaint.
Jane Doe is seeking unspecified monetary damages.
"As alleged in the complaint, Defendants preyed on a vulnerable high school teenager as part of a sex trafficking scheme that involved plying her with drugs and alcohol and transporting her by private jet to New York City where she was gang raped by the three individual defendants at Mr. Combs' studio," Douglas H. Wigdor, founding partner of Wigdor LLP, said in a statement to CNN. "The depravity of these abhorrent acts has, not surprisingly, scarred our client for life."
Jane Doe is suing the defendants for violation of the New York Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law.
According to the New York City Council, the law gives "survivors of gender-motivated acts of violence more time to pursue civil actions by extending the statute of limitations" and also "applies to such acts committed by parties who direct, enable, participate in, or conspire in a gender-motivated act of violence."
A two-year window opened in March, allowing survivors of gender-based violence to take legal action in civil court even if a statute of limitations on the alleged offenses has expired. The law will expire in 2025.
Combs was sued for rape and abuse in November by former partner, singer Cassie Ventura, who filed her lawsuit under the now-expired The New York's Adult Survivors Act. The parties reached a settlement one day after Ventura filed the suit.
"I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control. I want to thank my family, fans and lawyers for their unwavering support," Ventura said in a statement obtained by CNN at the time.
A representative for Combs said in a statement to CNN that the settlement was "in no way an admission of wrongdoing" and "does not in any way undermine his flat-out denial of the claims."
Following Ventura's lawsuit, CNN reported Combs faced another lawsuit filed under the New York Adult Survivors Act. That suit accused him of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman and victimising her through "revenge porn." Combs, through his representative, has denied all allegations made against him.
- CNN
