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Cassie Ventura, known simply as Cassie, has petitioned U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian to keep Sean “Diddy” Combs behind bars ahead of his sentencing. In a letter to the court, her attorney Douglas Wigdor described Combs as a grave “danger to the victims who testified in this case, including herself, as well as to the community.”
Ventura, a key witness in the trial, recounted multiple instances of physical and psychological abuse during her four days on the stand. She testified Combs coerced her with drugs, violence, and threats that ranged from kicking and punching to orchestrating degrading “freak-off” parties involving escorts. In court, prosecutors referenced hotel surveillance footage showing Combs assaulting her, along with numerous supporting testimonies that described how he “slapped, hit, kicked, and dragged” her by the hair.
Her lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, emphasized that the bail hearing wasn’t about guilt that had already been partially established by Combs’s conviction on two counts of transporting individuals for prostitution, but was about ensuring safety. “Ms. Ventura believes that Mr. Combs is likely to pose a danger to the victims … as well as to the community,” Wigdor asserted in his letter, underscoring that Combs failed to clear the Threshold required by the Bail Reform Act to prove he poses no threat.
Wigdor further warned that if released, Combs’s wealth and influence could intimidate or retaliate against witnesses. A fellow stylist-turned-witness also sent a plea note to the judge, stating that allowing release would endanger those who came forward and “send a dangerous message … that wealth and influence can shield someone indefinitely from accountability.”
Judge Subramanian ultimately agreed, denying bail. He noted that Combs had “a years-long pattern of violence” and accepted that a conviction for transporting individuals for prostitution qualifies as a “crime of violence,” thus mandating detention. The judge highlighted that Combs’s defense itself acknowledged his violent behavior. The admissions made during the trial undermined any claims of his harmlessness.
Combs’s defense team had requested release on a $1 million bond with home confinement and travel restrictions, and even claimed he needed to care for his 85-year-old mother and a young child . But these arguments were dismissed in light of the risk to victims and the community.