Sean “Diddy” Combs’ attorney seeks to overturn bail denial order

Lawyers for hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs will appear in court on Wednesday to challenge a judge’s decision to deny Combs bail after he pleaded not guilty to a sex trafficking charge.

A federal judge in New York ordered the musician held in custody on Tuesday after prosecutors said he posed a “serious risk of flight.”

Combs, 54, was arrested Monday night on charges that he ran a criminal organization since at least 2008 that used drugs and violence to coerce women to “gratify his sexual desires,” prosecutors said.

The 14-page indictment charges him with extortion, sex trafficking by force and transportation for prostitution.

If convicted of all three charges, the rapper and record producer faces a sentence of 15 years to life in prison.

He wore a black T-shirt and gray sweatpants to his court appearance Tuesday in Manhattan.

When asked by federal judge Robyn Tarnofsky how Mr. Combs wished to plead guilty, Mr. Combs stood up and said, “not guilty.”

Mr. Combs’ attorney, Marc Agnifilo, later said that the musician’s defense team had filed an appeal against the judge’s bail decision.

“We have complete confidence in him,” Mr. Agnifilo told reporters outside the Manhattan courthouse. “He did not do these things.”

According to court records, Mr. Combs “used his power” to “entice female victims…to engage in prolonged sexual acts” known as “Freak Offs.”

“During the Freak Offs, Combs distributed a variety of narcotics to the victims, in part to keep the victims docile and compliant,” the indictment said.

At a news conference, US Attorney Damian Williams said officials found guns, ammunition and more than 1,000 bottles of lubricant during raids on Mr. Combs’s homes in Miami and Los Angeles about six months ago.

Federal agents also found three semi-automatic rifles with obliterated serial numbers and a drum magazine, Williams said.

He told reporters there could be more charges, but did not elaborate.

Mr Agnifilo, the musician’s lawyer, insisted “there was no coercion or crime”.

“He is not afraid of the allegations,” he said, adding that he believed Mr Combs was the target of “an unfair prosecution”.

In a bid to keep Mr Combs out of jail, his lawyers have asked the judge for a bail of $50m (£37.8m).

If accepted, Mr. Combs will await trial at his mansion on Miami’s posh Star Island.

In court documents, federal prosecutors said Mr. Combs “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to satisfy his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.”

Prosecutors allege Mr. Combs “created a criminal organization” whose members — under his direction — engaged in sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson and bribery.

The documents say that on “multiple occasions” Mr Combs assaulted women by “hitting, punching, dragging, throwing objects and kicking them”.

The indictment does not specify how many women are alleged victims. Nor does it allege that Combs himself directly engaged in unwanted sexual conduct with the women.

The Bad Boy Records founder, also known as P. Diddy and Puff Daddy during his career, has faced numerous allegations before.

Last November, his ex-girlfriend, Singer Casandra Elizabeth Venturafiled a civil lawsuit against him, detailing the violent abuse. He denied the allegations, but settled the lawsuit a day after it was filed.

In May, Mr. Combs issued a public apology after video footage from a Los Angeles hotel appears to show him beating Ms Ventura in the hallway.

Tuesday’s indictment against Mr. Combs accuses him of similar acts of violence.

Ms Ventura’s attorney, Douglas Wigdor, declined to comment on Mr Combs’ arrest.

The indictment comes after a series of sexual assault allegations against Mr. Combs, one of the most successful music moguls in rap history.

Four women, including Ms Ventura, have filed lawsuits accusing him of sexual and physical abuse.

In a statement released last December, Mr Combs defended himself against what he described as “sickening allegations” made by “individuals looking to make a quick buck”.

In June, he returned the “Key to New York City” at the request of Mayor Eric Adams, who had given him the honor just nine months earlier.

Days later, Howard University announced it was revoking Combs’ 2014 honorary degree.

The musician is credited with helping launch rappers and R&B singers like Usher, Mary J Blige and Notorious BIG to stardom in the 1990s and 2000s.