Cassie finishes Diddy trial testimony

Sean Combs’ ex-girlfriend detailed history of abuse on stand

Casandra Ventura, the ex-girlfriend of music mogul Sean Combs, on Friday finished four gruelling days on the witness stand in his sex trafficking trial, testifying in graphic, deeply personal terms about years of abuse including rape, reported AFP.

Combs is facing federal charges of sex trafficking and leading an illegal sex ring that enforced its power with crimes including arson, kidnapping and bribery – and Ventura’s testimony is core to the prosecution’s case.

Ventura – the singer known as Cassie, who is heavily pregnant with her third child – told jurors that Combs raped, beat and forced her into degrading, drug-fuelled sex parties dubbed “freak-offs” throughout their decade-plus relationship.

In the final stretch of her testimony in a Manhattan courtroom, Ventura faced a blitz of questions over a $20 million settlement she received from Combs in a separate civil case prior to the start of criminal proceedings.

She said she was also set to receive $10 million in another settlement with the Intercontinental Hotel, where Combs assaulted her in a 2016 incident caught on camera that was aired in open court.

Ventura remained largely composed throughout the week but broke down near the end of her testimony.

“I’d give that money back if I never had to do freak-offs,” she said through tears in an emotional crescendo, referring to the marathon sex parties with male escorts she says Combs systematically subjected her to.

“I would have had agency and autonomy. I wouldn’t have had to work so hard to get it back,” she said.

She said Combs’s treatment of her made her feel “worthless.”

The defence sought to tarnish her credibility with painstaking readings of years-old text messages between the couple, emphasising that she stayed with Combs despite the alleged abuse, and pointing to times when she had acted violently.

“I will kill you,” Ventura was heard saying in an audio recording to a man she believed had a video of a freak-off.

Defence lawyer Anna Estevao highlighted tender text exchanges, and implied drug addiction had played a key role in Combs’s rage.

Ventura insisted there was subtext to many of the suggestive or keen messages she sent to Combs over the years, and that she often felt pressured into freak-offs with the music industry heavyweight, especially as she was signed to his label.

“I worried for my safety. I worried for my career. But I also was in love with him, so I worried that he wouldn’t want to be with me” if she didn’t comply with his demands, she said.

‘Extremely challenging’