Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs held Cassie’s friend on balcony ledge, jury hears

NEW YORK — Hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs held a friend of his former girlfriend Casandra Ventura on the ledge of a balcony of a 17th floor apartment in September 2016, the friend testified on Wednesday at Mr. Combs’ sex trafficking trial.

Bryana Bongolan, Ms. Ventura’s friend, told jurors in Manhattan federal court that Mr. Combs then came up to her from behind on the balcony of Ms. Ventura’s Los Angeles apartment, lifted her up, and placed her on top of the balcony’s rail.

Mr. Combs then told her several times, “You know what the fuck you did,” Ms. Bongolan testified.

“For a split second I was thinking about if I was going to fall, but for the most part he was yelling at me, so I was trying to answer him,” Ms. Bongolan, 33, told the jury.

Ms. Bongolan testified that she told Mr. Combs she did not know what she had done. To this day, she does not know what Mr. Combs believed she did, Ms. Bongolan said.

Mr. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to five counts including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan say Mr. Combs over two decades coerced women, including Ms. Ventura, to take part in drug-fueled sexual performances with male sex workers known as “Freak Offs.”

The trial is in its fourth week.

Ms. Ventura, a rhythm and blues singer known as Cassie, told jurors last month she took part in Mr. Combs’ Freak Offs for about a decade, at first to please him and later because he blackmailed her with videos of the encounters.

She said Mr. Combs frequently beat her.

Prosecutors with the Manhattan US attorney’s office say Mr. Combs and his associates used force and the threat of force to coerce women to take part in the Freak Offs and to make sure witnesses to his abuse remained quiet.

Mr. Combs’ lawyers have acknowledged he was at times abusive in domestic relationships, but argue that women who took part in Freak Offs did so consensually.

Ms. Bongolan said Mr. Combs and Ms. Ventura often had a volatile relationship. Ms. Bongolan said she saw Ms. Ventura with a black eye or bruises on multiple occasions. Once, Ms. Bongolan said she saw Mr. Combs throw a knife in Ms. Ventura’s direction in Ms. Ventura’s apartment.

Another time, on the beach in Malibu, California, Mr. Combs approached Ms. Bongolan and said, “I’m the devil and I could kill you,” Ms. Bongolan testified. She said she did not know why Mr. Combs told her that.

Ms. Bongolan said the 2016 balcony incident took place early one morning after she had spent the night at Ms. Ventura’s apartment. She said she was about 5 feet 1 inch (155 cm) tall and weighed between 100 and 115 pounds (45 to 52 kg) at the time. Mr. Combs, Ms. Bongolan said, was “bigger.”

After holding her on top of the balcony’s rail for between 10 and 15 seconds, Mr. Combs threw her onto the balcony furniture, Ms. Bongolan said. Jurors saw photographs Ms. Bongolan took of bruises she said she suffered as a result of the incident. Ms. Bongolan says she still has night terrors and paranoia.

Mr. Combs could face life in prison if convicted on all counts. Prosecutors have said they may finish presenting their case next week, allowing the defense to put on its case. — Reuters