The legal team representing music tycoon Sean “Diddy” Combs has mounted a fierce counteroffensive against allegations of sexual assault brought against him. The clothes of battle were donned on Friday, when lawyers advanced a motion aimed at dismissing aspects of the suit that they allege were not in alignment with the prevailing law at the time of the incidents in question.
At the heart of the legal maelstrom is Joi Dickerson-Neal, who has laid chilling claims against the music mogul, ingrained in the narrative of their shared history in 1991. Combs’ attorneys, however, maintain that their client is immune from prosecution for some of these, considering that corresponding laws were non-existent during that period.
Specifically, Combs’ representation has set its sights on eliminating elements of Dickerson-Neal’s narrative related to revenge porn and human trafficking. Their stance is grounded in the premise that these aspects of the law came into existence well after Dickerson-Neal’s allegations were purported to have taken place.
Dickerson-Neal, last year, painted a harrowing picture of Combs, alleging him of intentionally drugging her. Then, as she recollected, he conducted himself to her home, before sexually assaulting the 19-year-old college student post their date in Harlem. To add to the gravity of the claim, she accuses Combs of filming the assault without her knowledge, and subsequently disseminating it among friends in the music industry.
In response to these accusations, Combs holds fast to his innocence, suggesting that Dickerson-Neal is attempting to manipulate the New York law that temporarily extended the statute of limitations.
Combs’ lawyers supplement this claim, arguing that the New York State Revenge Porn Law, which may have endowed Dickerson-Neal with legal recourse, was not cemented until 2019. Akin to this being the New York Services for Victims of Human Trafficking Law, put into effect only in 2007.
The tension surrounding the allegations has been further ratcheted up by last month’s federal raid on Combs’ properties in Los Angeles and Miami, as part of a sex trafficking investigation. This criminal probe marks a significant increase in the scrutiny facing Combs, who has recently defended himself against numerous sexual abuse allegations.
Disturbing claims surfaced last November when Combs’ former protégé and onetime girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie, accused him of prolonged sexual abuse, inclusive of rape. As per the lawsuit, Combs was said to have coerced her into sexual liaisons with male prostitutes while he filmed the encounters.
In February, a music producer accused Combs of pressuring him into soliciting prostitutes and engaging in sexual acts with them. Additionally, a woman has accused Combs of sexual assault from two decades ago when she was a minor.
Emphatically repudiating all the allegations, both Combs and his attorneys unitedly proclaimed their stance against what they term as “numerous false, offensive, and salacious accusations” in the bevy of lawsuits that they currently face.
