Sean 'Diddy' Combs dangled Cassie
5/6/2025 6:15
Hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy"
Combs dangled a friend of his former girlfriend Casandra Ventura
off the balcony of a 17th-floor apartment in September 2016, the
friend testified on Wednesday at Combs' sex trafficking trial.
Bryana Bongolan, Ventura's friend, told jurors in Manhattan
federal court that Combs then came up to her from behind on the
balcony of Ventura's Los Angeles apartment, lifted her up, and
placed her on top of the balcony's rail.
Combs then told her several times, "You know what the fuck
you did," Bongolan testified.
"For a split second I was thinking about if I was going to
fall, but for the most part he was yelling at me, so I was
trying to answer him," Bongolan, 33, told the jury.
Bongolan testified that she told Combs she did not know what
she had done. To this day, she does not know what Combs believed
she did, Bongolan said.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to five counts including
racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan say Combs over two decades
coerced women, including Ventura, to take part in drug-fueled
sexual performances with male sex workers known as "Freak
Offs."
The trial is in its fourth week.
Ventura, a rhythm and blues singer known as Cassie, told
jurors last month she took part in Combs' Freak Offs for about a
decade, at first to please him and later because he blackmailed
her with videos of the encounters.
She said Combs frequently beat her.
Prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office say
Combs and his associates used force and the threat of force to
coerce women to take part in the Freak Offs and to make sure
witnesses to his abuse remained quiet.
Combs' lawyers have acknowledged he was at times abusive in
domestic relationships, but argue that women who took part in
Freak Offs did so consensually.
Bongolan said Combs and Ventura often had a volatile
relationship. Bongolan said she saw Ventura with a black eye or
bruises on multiple occasions. Once, Bongolan said she saw Combs
throw a knife in Ventura's direction in Ventura's apartment.
Another time, on the beach in Malibu, California, Combs
approached Bongolan and said, "I'm the devil and I could kill
you," Bongolan testified. She said she did not know why Combs
told her that.
Bongolan said the 2016 balcony incident took place early one
morning after she had spent the night at Ventura's apartment.
She said she was about 5 feet 1 inch (155 cm) tall and weighed
between 100 and 115 pounds (45 to 52 kg) at the time. Combs,
Bongolan said, was "bigger."
After holding her on top of the balcony's rail for between
10 and 15 seconds, Combs threw her onto the balcony furniture,
Bongolan said. Jurors saw photographs Bongolan took of bruises
she said she suffered as a result of the incident. Bongolan says
she still has night terrors and paranoia.
Combs could face life in prison if convicted on all counts.
Prosecutors have said they may finish presenting their case next
week, allowing the defense to put on its case.
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