NEW YORK (AP) – Lawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs asked a New York judge on Tuesday to force prosecutors to release the names of his accusers in his sex trafficking case.

Lawyers wrote in a letter to a Manhattan federal court judge that the hip-hop music maker must know the identities of his alleged victims so as to properly prepare for trial.

Combs’ trial date was set for May 5 last week. He pleaded not guilty.

A spokesman for the prosecutor’s office declined to comment on the matter.

Combs, 54, stays in jail without bail after being federally arrested on Sept. 16 for sex trafficking. His lawyers have asked a federal appeals court to release him from house arrest so he can more easily meet with lawyers and prepare for trial.
So far, judges have found he poses a danger to the community and can’t be released.

The demand to discover accusers got here a day after six recent lawsuits were filed anonymously against Combs to protect the identities of alleged victims. Two of the accusers were identified as Jane Does, while 4 of the men were named in the lawsuit as John Does. The lawsuit alleged that he used his fame and guarantees to enhance his prospects in the music industry to persuade victims to attend lavish parties or drug-fuelled gatherings, during which he then attacked them.

The plaintiffs in Monday’s trials are part of what their attorneys say is a group of greater than 100 accusers who are in the process of taking legal motion against Combs.

In their Tuesday letter to Judge Arun Subramanian, Combs’ lawyers said the case against their client was unique, partly because of the number of accusers. They attributed the number to “his celebrity status, wealth, and the notoriety of his previously settled lawsuit.”

The reference apparently cites a November lawsuit filed by his ex-girlfriend, Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura. The next day, Combs settled the case, but has since been dogged by allegations of sexual and physical harassment.

The Associated Press doesn’t typically name individuals who say they’ve been victims of sexual abuse unless they arrive forward publicly, as Ventura did.

Combs’ lawyers say the Cassie settlement, together with federal agents’ “false inflammatory statements” and Combs’ fame, “have had a pervasive ripple effect, generating a torrent of allegations from unidentified complainants that range from false to downright absurd.” “

They said the lawsuits filed Monday with other lawsuits and their “swirling allegations have created a hysterical media circus that, if left unchecked, will irreversibly deprive Mr. Combs of a fair trial if he has not already received it.”

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The lawyers wrote that the government should discover the alleged victims because Combs has no way of knowing what allegations prosecutors depend on in making allegations in the indictment.

“To the extent that Mr. Combs is forced to mount a defense against criminal charges that the government does not seek to prove at trial, he has a right to know about it,” the lawyers said.

The indictment accuses Combs of using a network of associates and employees to coerce and harass women over the years, while also using blackmail and acts of violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings, to prevent victims from speaking out.

R. Kelly is serving two concurrent sentences on charges starting from child pornography and soliciting sex from minors to racketeering and sex trafficking in each Chicago and New York, but his daughter now publicly claims she is amongst dozens of his victims.

Buki Abi, born Joann Kelly, speaks for the primary time in “R. “Kelly’s Karma: A Daughter’s Journey” is currently streaming on the TVEI network. As reported People magazine through the two-part documentary, Abi, now 26, claims Kelly sexually abused her when she was 8 or 9 years old.

“I just remember waking up to him touching me,” she recalled tearfully within the second episode. “And I didn’t know what to do, so I just lay there and pretended to sleep.

“(My father) was all the pieces to me. For a very long time I didn’t even wish to imagine that it had happened. I didn’t know that even when he was a bad person, he would do something to me,” Abi explains within the documentary. “I used to be too scared to inform anyone. I used to be too afraid to inform my mom.

Abi further stated that on the age of 10, just a 12 months after her father was acquitted on child pornography charges in Chicago, she finally reported the abuse to her mother, R. Kelly’s ex-wife Andrea Kelly. The two filed a grievance with local police under the pseudonym “Jane Doe,” but no further motion was taken.

“They couldn’t charge him because I waited too long. That’s why at this point in my life I felt like I said something for nothing,” Abi said.

Kelly’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, appears to verify the filing of the grievance, saying in a statement to People magazine: “Mr. Kelly vehemently denies these allegations. His ex-wife made the identical allegation years ago, and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services investigated the case and located it to be unfounded. Bonjean further states that the filmmakers haven’t contacted R. Kelly or his team for comment.

In “R. Kelly’s Karma: A Daughter’s Journey” Abi is joined by her mother, brothers Jaah and Robert Jr., and her maternal grandparents to debate life after her father’s beliefs. The documentary also reportedly examines the regularity of “delayed disclosure” by sexual assault survivors, and the impact of the alleged abuse on Abi’s life, including self-harm and suicidal thoughts.

“I got to the purpose where I didn’t care anymore. I didn’t care if I lived or died,” he recalled. “(My mom) was really worried and at that point I broke down and had to tell her, ‘I don’t think I’m okay.’ I don’t think I can do it. I don’t think I’ll be able to live the rest of my life.”

Abi is now expecting her first child and has no plans to introduce him to her father, for whom she says prison is a “well-suited place.”

“I really feel like that one millisecond completely changed my entire life, it changed who I was as a person, it changed the glow that I had and the light that I carried,” she said, later adding: “And even to this day I’m very attached to it I’m struggling.”

“R. Kelly’s Karma: A Daughter’s Journey” is currently streaming on the TVEI network.

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New York’s Supreme Court of Appeals has reinstated murder charges against a retired state trooper within the death of an 11-year-old black girl 4 years ago after he allegedly crashed his police vehicle into her family’s SUV “like the Dukes of Hazard,” judges say. noted within the ruling.

Christopher G. Baldner faces charges of second-degree murder within the death of Monica Goods of Brooklyn and 6 counts of first-degree reckless endangerment following his initial indictment in October 2021.

But earlier this 12 months, Ulster County Superior Court Judge Bryan Rounds found that the evidence didn’t convincingly show that Baldner acted with a “betrayed indifference to human life” during a fatal traffic accident involving the family’s Dodge Journey in December 2020

As a result, Rounds dismissed the murder charge, effectively leaving Baldner to face only lesser crimes. He also reduced the reckless endangerment charges, limiting them to second-degree violations and cutting the overall number in half.

New York Attorney General Letitia James later challenged the result, appealing to the Appellate Division of the Third Judicial Department of the State Supreme Court, which agreed to reinstate all charges within the case Opinion 4-1 was given in Albany last Thursday.

Only one judge expressed opposition to the decision, while the bulk referred to the cruel language contained in the unique indictment issued within the case.

“The grand jury heard that in September 2019, the defendant ‘came out of the woods like gambling princes’ in his state police vehicle with sirens activated when he observed a minivan traveling at 80 miles per hour,” he added. is the opinion.

“The evidence of the December 2020 incident is comparable. The grand jury heard from witnesses that at roughly 11:40 p.m., the defendant “was looking to see if he could get one last ticket” before meeting his partner when he stopped an SUV for speeding.”

The court referred to the classic television series “The Dukes of Hazzard” – known for its shocking automobile chases and high-speed stunts.

In his dissent, Justice J.P. Egan Jr. admitted that Baldner “performed his job in a reckless and undisciplined manner” but argued that his actions didn’t constitute a “total disregard for human life”.

But the bulk disagreed, declaring that even when Baldner applied the brakes on his work vehicle throughout the pursuit, it was to “intentionally ram the SUV.”

The court emphasized that such actions are permitted under state police regulations only within the presence of a superior officer, and that Baldner’s behavior was consistent with a previous pattern of behavior.

The girl’s father, Tristan Goods, was behind the wheel of the SUV when the situation rapidly escalated following a traffic stop.

“(D)efendant initiated the traffic stop by angrily and vulgarly accusing Goods of driving over 100 miles per hour,” the ruling said, according to an affidavit filed by the girl’s father. “An argument ensued between the defendant and Goods in front of Goods’ wife and two children, who attempted to calm him down.”

Witnesses say the defendant left to pick up a supervisor but returned and pepper-sprayed the SUV without notice, causing Goods’ wife and kids to scream in pain. Goods, shielding his eyes, fled the scene when the spray can was found contained in the vehicle.

Baldner immediately gave chase, reporting to the dispatcher that the SUV was “getting away” and his pepper spray was still inside.

James’ post-indictment statement states that throughout the pursuit, Baldner rear-ended an SUV twice with the police vehicle. After the second time, the SUV rolled over several times before coming to rest the wrong way up.

Monica Goods was ejected from the vehicle and died from her injuries before the ambulance arrived.

The ruling stated that the appellate court accepted the daddy’s account of the incident, while emphasizing a very powerful details regarding the circumstances of every collision.

Attorney General James released a statement last week praising the court’s decision to hold Baldner accountable.

“As a former state trooper, Christopher Baldner was responsible for serving and protecting the people of New York, but the indictment accuses him of violating that sacred oath and using his vehicle as a deadly weapon, resulting in the senseless death of a young girl,” Jacob wrote.

“While nothing can return Monica Goods to the loving arms of her family, this court decision will enable my office to continue its efforts to obtain some semblance of justice for the Goods family. We must hold law enforcement to the highest standards and we will continue to work on this case to ensure justice is served.”

In one other statement concerning the ruling, the New York State Police Benevolent Association criticized the court’s decision.

“We strongly disagree with the decision, which we believe inappropriately reinstated the charge of ‘depraved indifference,’” the union said.

“We are deeply concerned that this ruling, if upheld, would set a dangerous precedent that would undermine the power of law enforcement officers to effectively do their jobs and protect and serve the general public. The PBA will proceed to support retired Trooper Baldner and canopy his legal fees as he seeks permission to appeal this decision.