NEW YORK — A new wave of lawsuits filed Monday accuses Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping women, sexually assaulting men and molesting a 16-year-old boy.
At least six lawsuits were filed against the hip-hop mogul in Manhattan federal court. They were filed anonymously, two by women identified as Jane Doe and four by men identified as John Doe.
The accusers are a group of more than 100 alleged victims who are in the process of taking legal action against Combs in the wake of his sex trafficking arrest last month, his attorneys say.
One of John Does, a man living in North Carolina, alleged that Combs fondled his genitals when he was 16 in 1998 at one of the rapper’s famous white parties in the Hamptons, Long Island.
The man alleges that during a conversation about possibly entering the music industry, Combs suddenly ordered the then-teenager to take off his pants so Combs could inspect his penis.
According to the man’s lawsuit, Combs explained to him that it was a rite of passage to become a music star, at one point asking the then-teenager: “Don’t you want to get into the business?”
The man said he complied because of the fear, anxiety and power imbalance he felt with Combs, only to later realize that what happened was sexual assault.
Other lawsuits filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan include allegations of rape, forced oral sex and administering drugs to incapacitate the victims.
Until Monday’s trial, Combs had only been charged in the civil cases and the criminal indictment of sexual activity with adults.
Combs’ attorneys and other representatives did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. When the planned lawsuits were announced on October 1, an attorney said that Combs “cannot address every baseless allegation in what has become a reckless media circus.”
Combs, 54, has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and sex trafficking charges and allegations that he coerced and abused women for years with the help of a network of associates and employees, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings. The victims were silenced through blackmail and violence.
Combs’ lawyers are unsuccessfully trying to get the Bad Boy Records founder freed on bail. He has been held in a federal prison in Brooklyn since his arrest on September 16.
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