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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has scored a rare legal win as a judge has thrown out some of the charges made against him in a $30 million lawsuit filed by former producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones alleging sexual assault. Combs is currently awaiting his federal trial to begin in May.
In February 2024, Lil Rod, real name Rodney Jones, filed a 73-page complaint alleging that — while living with Sean Combs from September 2022 to November 2023 — he observed the “I’ll Be Missing You” rapper allegedly engage in lacing alcohol for the guests in his home, including underaged girls, running a racketeering enterprise, and forcing people, such as himself, to participate in sexual acts with prostitutes.
Jones also claimed to have recorded “hours” of video and audio of Combs and associates engaging in illegal activities.
This week, however, Judge J. Paul Oetken, a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, has a dismissed portions of the case.
“The judge dismissed the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) charge against Combs and Khorram in the case, failing to find a viable argument in Jones’ opposition brief and that ‘it should not be necessary to root around a 402-paragraph complaint to contrive novel arguments on Jones’s behalf.’ He also dismissed negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims; breach of contract claims; and the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) claim against Combs Global.” [via Variety]
Following his arrest, Diddy was taken into police custody and was arraigned in front of a judge, where he plead not guilty and was denied bail.
“For decades, Sean Combs, the defendant, abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct,” the federal indictment against Diddy alleges.
“To do so, Combs relied on the employees, resources, and influence of the multifaceted business empire that he led and controlled, creating a criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in… among other crimes, sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice.”
Combs has since been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn ahead of his trial, which is scheduled to begin in May. If found guilty of the charges against him, which includes racketeering and trafficking, Combs faces a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of life in prison.