Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has reportedly been placed on suicide watch as he awaits trial.
The ‘I’ll Be Missing You’ rapper was arrested at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan, New York on Monday (September 16) night.
The 54-year-old star’s legal indictment was unsealed the following day and revealed that he had been charged with sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
He has been remanded to Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center after pleading not guilty, and he has been denied bail twice.
Combs, formerly known as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, appeared in court on Wednesday (September 18) to propose a $50 million bail package to avoid the infamous detention center.
Prosecutors contended against the proposal, saying there was a chance that Combs could threaten or harm the several witnesses named in the suit, per Sky News.
According to PEOPLE, the Bad Boy Records founder has now been placed on suicide watch. The outlets state that sources described the move as a preventative measure as he is in shock with his mental state unclear.
The U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Corrections describes suicide watch as “supervisory precautions taken for suicidal inmates that require frequent observation,” as cited by the publication.
Sketches from Diddy’s court appearance yesterday have been released pic.twitter.com/PvQmkXWmz9
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) September 18, 2024
Diddy’s arrest comes months after federal authorities carrying out a sex trafficking investigation raided his homes in Los Angeles and Miami.
The 14-page indictment disclosed what authorities recovered in those raids: narcotics, three AR-15s with “defaced serial numbers,” a drum magazine, ammunition, and “more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant,” per The Independent.
Combs has been charged with abusing, threatening, and coercing women for decades “to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct,” federal prosecutors said.
Prosecutors allege that the entrepreneur induced female victims and male sex workers to participate in “elaborate and produced sex performances” which were called “Freak Offs,” per BBC.
These drug-fuelled orchestrated acts were allegedly recorded and directed by Combs, and would sometimes last days. The indictment also claims that Combs and the alleged victims “typically received IV fluids to recover from the physical exertion and drug use,” per a report by Metro.
The allegations in the document mirror the ones Combs’ ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, made in the civil complaint she filed against the music mogul last year.
She said that she was given “ecstasy, cocaine, GHB, ketamine, marijuana, and alcohol in excessive amounts” which allowed her to disassociate while engaging in sexual acts with sex workers in front of Combs, as cited by the CUT.
Diddy has been denied bail twice and will remain in jail. Credit: Jemal Countess / Getty
If convicted, the father-of-seven faces a sentence of 15 years up to life in prison.
His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, declared his client’s innocence, and described the “freak offs” as consensual: “Is it sex trafficking? Not if everybody wants to be there.”
Combs will be detained at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center until his trial.
