Crime | Sean Combs Sean Combs' Trial: He 'Ran a Criminal Enterprise' Opening statements begin in sex-trafficking case By John Johnson Posted May 12, 2025 10:37 AM CDT Copied Sean 'Diddy' Combs, right, stands and looks at jurors as they file into the jury box at the start of jury selection at Manhattan federal court, Monday, May 5, 2025, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP) See 4 more photos The jury is seated, and now the actual trial is underway for Sean "Diddy" Combs. The 55-year-old music mogul may spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted in his sex-trafficking and racketeering trial. The big question for the jury is whether Combs ran what amounted to a criminal operation, one that federal prosecutors allege resulted in multiple abused women. The trial is expected to last eight weeks. Highlights from opening statements: "To the public he was Puff Daddy or Diddy, a cultural icon, a businessman, larger than life," said prosecutor Emily Johnson, reports CBS News. "But there was another side to him—a side that ran a criminal enterprise." She told the jury they would hear about Combs' crimes, "but he didn't do it alone. He had an inner circle of bodyguards and high-ranking employees who helped him commit crimes and helped him cover them up." And perhaps trying to undercut a likely defense, Johnson emphasized to jurors that "this case is not about a celebrity's private sexual preferences," reports the New York Times. She said Combs coerced women into sex through violence and threats, and drugged them as well—all with the help of his entourage. The defense is expected to argue that all the sex was consensual and accuse the government of prosecutorial overreach into Combs' "swinger" lifestyle, per USA Today. Read These Next Trump is calling out the 'arm of the Democratic party.' If you're easily freaked out, do not read this screwworm story. You know you're good when you get a high-five from your heckler. FEMA staff: Trump administration is breaking the law. See 4 more photos Report an error