NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 Sean 鈥淒iddy鈥 Combs headed to jail Tuesday to await trial in a federal sex trafficking case that accuses him of presiding over a sordid empire of sexual crimes protected by blackmail and shocking acts of violence.
The music mogul is charged with racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. The indictment against him lists allegations that go back to 2008.
He's accused of inducing female victims and male sex workers into drugged-up, sometimes dayslong sexual performances dubbed 鈥淔reak Offs." The indictment also refers obliquely to an attack on his former girlfriend, the , that was captured on video.
鈥淣ot guilty,鈥 Combs told a court, standing to speak after expressionlessly listening to the allegations with his uncuffed hands folded in his lap.
After U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky declined to grant him bail, Combs took a long swig from a water bottle, then was led out of court, turning toward family members in the audience as he went.
鈥淢r. Combs is a fighter. He鈥檚 going to fight this to the end. He鈥檚 innocent,鈥 his lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said after court. He plans to appeal the bail decision.
The Bad Boy Records founder is accused of sexually abusing and using physical force toward women and getting his personal assistants, security and household staff to help him hide it all. Prosecutors say he also tried to bribe and intimidate witnesses and victims to keep them quiet.
"Simply put, he is a serial abuser and a serial obstructor,鈥 Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson told a court.
Agnifilo acknowledged Combs was 鈥渘ot a perfect person," saying he'd used drugs and had been in 鈥渢oxic relationships鈥 but was getting treatment and therapy.
鈥淭he evidence in this case is extremely problematic," the attorney told the court.
He maintained that the case stemmed from one long-term, consensual relationship that faltered amid infidelity. He didn't name the woman, but the details matched those of Combs鈥 decade-long involvement with Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura.
The 鈥淔reak Offs,鈥 Agnifilo contended, were an expansion of that relationship, and not coercive.
鈥淚s it sex trafficking? Not if everybody wants to be there,鈥 Agnifilo said, arguing that authorities were intruding on his client鈥檚 private life.
Prosecutors said in court papers that they had interviewed more than 50 victims and witnesses and expect the number to grow. They said they would use financial, travel and billing records, electronic data and communications and videos of the 鈥淔reak Offs鈥 to prove their case.
Combs was in Manhattan, roughly six months after federal authorities in Los Angeles and Miami.
A conviction on every charge would require at least 15 years in prison, with the possibility of a life sentence.
The indictment describes Combs as the head of a criminal enterprise that engaged or attempted to engage in sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, drug offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.
Combs and his associates wielded his 鈥減ower and prestige鈥 to intimidate and lure women into his orbit, 鈥渙ften under the pretense of a romantic relationship,鈥 according to the indictment.
It says he then would use force, threats and coercion to get the women to engage with male sex workers in the 鈥淔reak Offs鈥 鈥 鈥渆laborate and produced sex performances鈥 that Combs arranged and recorded, creating dozens of videos.
He ensured their participation by procuring and providing drugs, controlling their careers, leveraging his financial support and using intimidation and violence, according to the indictment. It said his employees facilitated 鈥淔reak Offs鈥 by taking care of tasks like travel and hotel arrangements and stocking them with such supplies as drugs and baby oil.
The events could last for days, and Combs and victims would often receive IV fluids to recover from the exertion and drug use, the indictment said.
During the searches of Combs鈥 homes earlier this year, law enforcement seized narcotics, videos of the performances and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, according to prosecutors. They said agents also seized firearms and ammunition, including three AR-15s with defaced serial numbers in his bedroom closet in Miami.
Combs' lawyer said his client didn鈥檛 own the guns, noting that he employs a security company.
The indictment says Combs choked, shoved, hit and kicked people, causing injuries that often took days or weeks to heal. His employees and associates sometimes kept victims from leaving or tracked down those who tried, the indictment said.
It alleges that Combs used explicit recordings as 鈥渃ollateral" to ensure the women's continued obedience and silence. He also exerted control over victims by promising career opportunities, providing and threatening to withhold financial support, dictating how they looked, monitoring their health records and controlling where they lived, according to the indictment.
As the threat of criminal charges loomed, Combs and his associates pressured witnesses and victims to stay silent, offering bribes and supplying false narratives of what happened, the indictment says.
In a court filing, prosecutors accused Combs and an unidentified co-conspirator of kidnapping someone at gunpoint in December 2011 in order to facilitate a break-in at another person鈥檚 home. Two weeks later, prosecutors wrote, Combs set fire to someone鈥檚 vehicle by slicing open its convertible top and dropping in a Molotov cocktail.
All of this, prosecutors say, was happening behind the facade of Combs鈥 global music, lifestyle and clothing business.
Combs was recognized as one of the most influential figures in hip-hop before a flood of allegations emerged over the past year.
In November, Ventura filed a lawsuit . She accused Combs of coercing her, and others, into unwanted sex in drug-fueled settings.
The suit was , but months later, CNN aired hotel security footage showing Combs and throwing her on a floor. After the video aired, , saying, 鈥淚 was disgusted when I did it.鈥
The indictment refers to the attack, without naming Ventura, and says Combs tried to bribe a hotel security staffer to stay mum about it.
Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer for Ventura, declined to comment Tuesday.
Combs and his attorneys denied similar allegations made by others in a string of lawsuits.
The AP does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Ventura did.
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This story has been corrected to show that Combs is 54, not 58.