Sean 'Diddy' Combs Pleads Not Guilty To Sex Trafficking, Racketeering Charges

Musician and media mogul Sean Diddy Combs pleaded not guilty  Tuesday to three federal counts of sex trafficking and racketeering. He was arrested the day before, following a Manhattan grand jury indictment. 

A judge denied Combs request to be released on bond, siding with prosecutors who argued that detaining him was the only way to ensure he did not attempt to flee or intimidate witnesses.

Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, confirmed Monday that Combs had been arrested by federal agents based on a sealed indictment.

The charges were made public shortly before Combs was scheduled to appear in court Tuesday. 

Prosecutors accused him of abusing women, employees and others, allegedly threatening them for years in order to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct. 

This abuse was, at times, verbal, emotional, physical and sexual, prosecutors wrote in charging papers. 

Combs allegedly had his own name for the parties where the abuse took place: freak-offs. 

Members and associates of the Combs Enterprise engaged in, and attempted to engage in, among other activities, sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, coercion and enticement to engage in prostitution, narcotics offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice, they said. 

Williams described the threat that Combs posed at a Tuesday press conference where he showed photographs of handguns and three AR-15 weapons taken from his home. 

Combs attorney, Marc Agnifilo, had told The New York Times on Monday that he believed the charges were for racketeering and sex trafficking. 

We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorneys Office, Agnifilo said in a statement to TMZ  on Monday. Sean Diddy Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man, and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children, and working to uplift the Black community.

Agnifilo said his client had been nothing but cooperative with investigators, noting Combs had voluntarily moved to New York last week in anticipation of the charges.

Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts, the lawyer said. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.

On Tuesday, Agnifilo told reporters that Combs spirits are good and that hes confident.

Hes going to fight this with all of his energy and all of his might and the full confidence of his lawyers and I expect a long battle with a good result for Mr. Combs, he added, according to People .

Combs, 54, has faced allegations from several women . Last November, he settled a lawsuit with singer Cassie after she accused him of sexual and physical abuse during their years-long relationship. Singer Dawn Richard sued him in a separate case earlier this month on accusations of sexual assault and retaliation, among other claims.

Federal agents raided several of his homes in March in Los Angeles and Miami Beach, Florida. Officials told media outlets at the time the raids were linked to a sex trafficking investigation by federal authorities in New York, although full details of that probe were unclear and it was not reported if Combs was a target of the investigation.

The rapper a major figure in the advent of hip-hop and R&B rejected any claims of wrongdoing, except in a video where he claimed to take full responsibility after CNN released footage of him abusing Cassie.

His attorneys have lashed out at investigators, saying he had been ambushed and subject to media scrutiny that had led to a premature rush to judgment.

Taiyler Mitchell and Sara Boboltz contributed reporting.