Juror issue surfaces early in Diddy sex trafficking trial deliberations

Judge reminds panel to follow legal instructions as jury considers charges that could bring life sentence.

Music mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs. Picture: Angela Weiss/AFP

Barely an hour into jury deliberations Monday at Sean “Diddy” Combs’s federal sex trafficking trial, the foreman alerted the court that a juror was having trouble following the judge’s instructions. That prompted the judge to send a note back reminding jurors they must abide by what he said.

“We are concerned (the juror) cannot follow your honour’s instructions,” the foreman wrote in a note just after 12.30pm.

The jury started deliberating around 11.30am on the charges that could put the hip-hop mogul in prison for life.

Judge Arun Subramanian sent his note to the jury after 2pm, reminding jurors to deliberate and to follow his instructions on the law.

After the judge originally proposed asking the jury foreman the nature of concerns about the fellow juror, defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo suggested caution and that less be said rather than more.

“We can always ratchet it up. We can’t ratchet it down,” Mr Agnifilo said. After more than two hours of legal instructions from Judge Subramanian, the jury of eight men and four women headed behind closed doors to deliberate.

They’re sifting through seven weeks of sometimes graphic and emotional testimony about the rap, fashion and reality TV impresario’s propensity for violence and his sexual predilections, including drug-fuelled sex marathons dubbed “ freak-offs” or “hotel nights”. Jurors are being provided with a laptop loaded with all of the exhibits shown in court, including text messages, photographs and videos of the sexual encounters at the heart of the case.

As he sent the jury to deliberate, the judge told the five alternate jurors to remain on standby in case they are needed to fill in on the main jury.

About 10 minutes into deliberations, jury members sent a note indicating they had completed their first order of business: electing a foreman.

Sean Combs’s sons, King Combs and Justin Combs, depart the Federal Court as jury begins deliberations in sex trafficking trial on June 30. Picture: Leonardo Munoz / AFP

Lila Combs, Chance Combs and Jessie Combs, daughters of Sean Combs, leave court on June 30. Picture: AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura

Combs faced his family and supporters, who were in the courtroom gallery, all of whom were bowing their heads in prayer – his family members holding hands with each other. As they finished, they all applauded, and eventually left the courtroom.

Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking – relating to two ex-girlfriends – and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution for allegedly arranging to fly sex workers across state lines.

In closing arguments last week, federal prosecutors and Combs’s defence team took its last shots at convincing jurors to convict or acquit the Grammy Award-winning founder of Bad Boy Records.

“The defendant used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted,” Assistant US Attorney Christy Slavik said. “He thought that his fame, wealth and power put him above the law.”

She said Combs used his “close inner circle and a small army of personal staff, who made it their mission to meet the defendant’s every desire, promote his power and protect his reputation at all costs”.

Defence lawyer Mr Agnifilo countered: “This isn’t about crime. It’s about money.”

He noted that one of Combs’s accusers in the criminal case also sued him in civil court.

“He is not a racketeer. He is not a conspirator to commit racketeering. He is none of these things. He is innocent. He sits there innocent. Return him to his family, who have been waiting for him,” the lawyer told jurors.

Cassie Ventura and Combs. Picture: Jewel Samad/AFP

In all, 34 witnesses testified, headlined by Combs’s former girlfriends Cassie – the R&B singer born Casandra Ventura – and “Jane”, who testified under a pseudonym. Both women said Combs often was violent toward them. Cassie said he forced her into hundreds of sexual encounters with paid male sex workers while Jane recounted numerous “hotel nights”. Jurors also saw now-infamous security camera video of Combs beating, kicking and dragging Cassie at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016 and clips from videos of sexual encounters.

Combs chose not to testify, and his lawyers did not call any witnesses in their defence case. They elected instead to challenge the accusers’ credibility during lengthy cross-examination questioning. The defence has acknowledged that Combs veered into violence, but his lawyers maintain the sex acts were consensual. They contend that prosecutors are intruding in Combs’s personal life and that he’s done nothing to warrant the charges against him.