She said she suffered years of physical and emotional abuse during their tumultuous relationship.
Richard is expected to resume her testimony on Monday. The trial, which has drawn intense media coverage because of Combs’ wealth and towering influence in the music industry, could last two months.
Cassie Ventura alleges she suffered years of abuse at the hands of Sean “Diddy” Combs (right).Credit: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
Richard has a pending civil lawsuit against Combs, accusing him of subjecting her to inhumane working conditions, including groping and assaulting her. The lawsuit says Richard saw Combs brutally beat Ventura on many occasions.
Before Richard’s testimony, jurors saw photos of items found during a search of Combs’ hotel room on the day of his arrest last September. The items include bottles of baby oil, lubricant, bags of cocaine and other drugs, some prescribed to people other than Combs.
Combs placed his hand on his forehead and spoke to his lawyers while jurors were shown bags of pink powder that a law enforcement witness said tested positive for MDMA and ketamine.
A prosecutor handed jurors bags of drugs and cash.
Defence challenges rape accusation
For much of Friday’s testimony, a lawyer representing Combs sought to undercut Ventura’s claim that he raped her in 2018, showing jurors text messages indicating Ventura had consensual sex with Combs a month after the alleged rape.
The lawyer, Anna Estevao, showed Ventura texts from September 2018 when she and Combs wrote of potentially meeting up and hugging after having not seen each other in a while.
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“You don’t say anything to the effect of, ‘Last time we saw each other you raped me?’” Estevao asked.
“Right,” Ventura responded.
Ventura previously told jurors Combs raped her in her home after they broke up.
“I just remember crying and saying no, but it was very fast,” she said, as her voice trailed off.
During follow-up questioning by a prosecutor on Friday, Ventura said she had no doubt that Combs raped her. She also acknowledged having consensual sex with him a few weeks later.
Combs, previously known as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, founded Bad Boy Records and is credited with helping turn artists such as Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, Notorious B.I.G. and Usher into stars in the 1990s and 2000s.
Meanwhile, singer Justin Bieber’s representative issued a statement saying Bieber was not a victim of Combs but supports others who were victims and are seeking justice from the hip-hop mogul, TMZ and People reported on Friday.
Videos of Combs and Bieber spending time together prompted online speculation that Combs may have abused Bieber.
Reuters
