The first day of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking and racketeering trial kicked off with graphic testimony from a former male escort who claimed he was paid to have sex with Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura while the hip-hop mogul watched — and sometimes, exploded with violence and unpredictable rage.
As Rolling Stone US reports, 41-year-old Daniel Phillip took the stand as the prosecution’s second witness in Manhattan federal court on Monday. He testified that the encounters — dubbed “freak-offs” — began around 2012 and involved hotels, baby oil, stacks of cash, and an increasingly disturbing pattern of control, dominance, and surveillance.
Phillip said he initially met the couple after being called to a supposed bachelorette party at Manhattan’s Gramercy Park Hotel. There was no party. Instead, a woman he’d later identify as Ventura opened the door in red lingerie and sunglasses, handed him money, and invited him to help celebrate her birthday — with her “husband” watching nearby.
In the candlelit suite, Phillip spotted a man sitting in a robe and baseball cap. The voice gave it away. It was Combs.
Over the next few years, Phillip claims Ventura paid him thousands for sex while Combs orchestrated the encounters. He described ritualistic setups, dimly lit rooms, and signs others had been there before. But things took a dark turn when he alleged Combs hurled a bottle at Ventura, dragged her by the hair, and screamed threats when she didn’t comply with his demands.
Phillip said he tried to warn Ventura, but she insisted she was okay. “I was terrified,” he told the court. “I didn’t know what to do.”
His testimony followed a hotel security guard who claimed Combs once offered him hush money after spotting Ventura with a bruised eye.
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Ventura is expected to testify later this week. Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
