One of the jurors deliberating Sean “Diddy” Combs’ fate is apparently having a tough time following instructions, their fellow jurors told the judge presiding over the case.
Just a couple of hours into deliberations at the rap mogul’s sex trafficking trial, the jury foreperson passed a note to Judge Arun Subramanian, indicating that the members were “concerned” that Juror No. 25 “cannot follow your honor’s instructions.”
The judge ordered the attorneys from both parties to confer on the fate of Juror No. 25, a 51-year-old Manhattan man with a Ph.D in molecular biology and neuroscience. He had previously indicated during jury selection that he was interested in opera and the outdoors, and disclosed that he had seen the video of Combs allegedly assaulting Casandra “Cassie” Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel prior to his jury service.
The trial lasted over a month and featured nearly three dozen witnesses across 29 days of testimony, all of whom were call by the prosecution.
Combs had been charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The prosecution’s case was built around an attempt to portray Combs as the leader of a criminal racket. Further, the government alleged that the Bad Boy Records founder either forced or coerced women into performing in extended and repeated sex acts with male sex workers.
Two of Combs’ exes — singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and a woman who testified under the pseudonym “Jane” — were key witnesses for the prosecution and each testified for several days.
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Both women testified about the sexual encounters known as “Freak Offs” and “Hotel Nights.”
Notably, Ventura alleged that Combs once raped her toward the end of their 11-year relationship, which concluded in 2018.
Defense attorneys used cross-examination to attempt undermine the prosecution’s case, trying to portray the sexual encounters as consensual and calling into question whether there was evidence to support the charge of a racketeering conspiracy.
Combs still faces several civil suits accusing him of sexual misconduct, which he has repeatedly denied.
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