Berliner Tageblatt - Sean 'Diddy' Combs was 'coercive and criminal,' jury hears

Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty on all counts, which include a racketeering charge alleging the hip-hop pioneer led a sex crime ring that included drug-fueled sex parties by use of force, threats and violence.

"He was... a cultural icon, a businessman, larger than life -- but there was another side to him, a side that ran a criminal enterprise," said prosecutor Emily Johnson.

She alleged Combs "brutally" beat his former girlfriend, singer Cassandra "Cassie" Ventura, threatening to release videos of her participating in elaborate sexual "freak-offs" if she defied him.

Johnson described Diddy as a violent offender who had set a man's car ablaze and dangled a woman from a balcony, as well as making impossible demands of his lovers.

"Let me be clear... this case is not about a celebrity's private sexual preferences," she said.

"It's coercive and criminal" in nature, she added as Combs watched intently.

The panel of 12 jurors -- eight men and four women -- and six alternates responsible for determining Combs's fate was finalized Monday.

The selected jurors will remain anonymous, but not sequestered -- meaning they must individually ensure they stay away from media coverage and social media commentary about the high-profile case.

- 'Toxic relationship' claim -

Combs's defense lawyer Teny Geragos told jurors the "case is about love, jealousy and infidelity and money."

Combs dramatically stood up and looked at the jury box when Geragos introduced him, his hands clasped.

Geragos called Combs's accusers "capable, strong, adult women," and his situation with Ventura a "toxic relationship between two people who loved each other."

"Being a willing participant in your own sex life is not sex trafficking," she said, adding that the defense would admit there was domestic violence -- but that Combs is not charged with domestic violence.

Ventura is expected to testify in the next day or two.

Combs, who was for decades one of music's powerhouse figures, appears aged, his once jet-black hair now gray.

Combs was joined at the courthouse by his mother Janice and 17-year-old twin daughters, and wore a white dress shirt under a beige sweatshirt with khaki pants and black-rimmed glasses.

There was a scrum of journalists and curious members of the public braving tight security, eager to catch a glimpse of the fallen music mogul.

If convicted, the one-time rap producer and global superstar, who is often credited for his role in bringing hip-hop into the mainstream, could spend the rest of his life in prison.

A disturbing surveillance video from 2016 shows Combs physically assaulting Ventura at a hotel.

It is unclear how much of the CNN video will be shown to jurors as evidence -- the footage quality has been a sticking point between the opposing legal teams -- but Judge Arun Subramanian has ruled that at least some of it will be admissible.

The proceedings are expected to last eight to 10 weeks.

T.Bondarenko--BTB