New York – The final stage of the jury selection for the extortion and sexual trafficking of the hip-hop magnate Sean “Diddy” combs It was postponed until the beginning of next week, just before starting opening arguments, a federal judge decided on Friday.
Prosecutors claim that combs, 55, used His fame and power At the top of the hip-hop world to sexually abuse women from 2004 to 2024. He declared himself innocent after his arrest in September and has remained detained without bail in a federal confinement in Brooklyn.
Judge Arun Subramanian granted the application of the defense lawyers to delay the last step in the jury selection until Monday, when both parties will reduce the group of 45 people to 12 jurors and six substitutes. In general, lawyers do not have to explain why they are expelling people from the panel.
The defense said that the surprising jury of possible jurors could take only 10 to 15 minutes, so why not do it on Monday when they will be present? The jury members did not have to be in the Manhattan court hall on Friday, but combs was there.
Prosecutors opposed, saying that the entire process could be agitated if several jurors are scared after being elected and decide that they do not want to participate in a high -profile trial that is expected To last two months.
Questions were asked the jury members earlier this week to help the judge and lawyers determine if they could be fair and impartial. And they were also questioned to ensure that they could decide the case of the facts, even after watching explicit videos of sexual activity that some I could find disturbing.
On Monday, prosecutors will be allowed to attack six possible jury jurors, while defense lawyers were allowed 10 strikes before the jury is completed. The process is expected to take up to an hour.
If combs is convicted of all charges, which include organized crime, kidnapping, caused fire, bribery and sex trafficking, would face 15 mandatory prison and could remain behind bars for life.
Prosecutors claim that the founder of Bad Boy Records used His fame and power At the top of the hip-hop world to sexually abuse women from 2004 to 2024.
An accusation includes descriptions of “Freak offs”, integrated orgies in which women were forced to have sex with male sex workers while the combs filmed them.
The charges against him also portray the combs as abusive of his victims, sometimes drowning, hitting, kicking them and dragging them, often by hair. Once, he alleges the accusation, he even hung someone from a balcony.
Their lawyers say that prosecutors are trying to criminalize sexual activity among adults they consent. They admit that Comong had abused several substances, but they say it has undergone treatment.
A centerpiece of the evidence against him is the registrations of combs that have exceeded a bride for a long time in a hall of the Los Angeles Hotel in 2016.
After a video of the meeting broadcast on CNN last year, Comink apologizedsaying: “They assume all the responsibility of my actions in that video. I was disgusted then when I did. Now I am disgusted.”
Numerous possible jurors told the judge that they had seen the video and that some were considered too affected by him to be impartial.
