Judge denies Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs access to freak-off tapes ahead of trial
Sean ‘Diddy‘ Combs has been denied access to the “freak-off” videos being used in his sex trafficking and racketeering case ahead of the trial on May 5th. US District Judge Arun Subramanian reportedly ruled against Combs’ attempt to change a protective order restricting the defence’s access to the footage.
“Defendant’s motion to amend the protective order is DENIED without prejudice,” the judge wrote in his ruling. He sided with the prosecutors’ argument that handing over the footage could create risks to the privacy and safety of his alleged victims.
According to AllHipHop, if Combs’ team want to appeal the decision, Subramanian said, “If that happens, they should be prepared to clearly articulate why they need possession of the videos despite the options furnished by the Government.”
However, prosecutors offered alternatives and allowed his legal team to view the footage while supervised. “To the extent these options are insufficient, the defence may propose other options to the Government,” the judge stated. “It doesn’t appear that the defence did this before raising the issue with the Court.”
Combs has claimed that many videos being used show “fully consenting adults.” Combs’ lawyers filed a letter to the court on January 14th, claiming his “innocence” in the encounters known as “freak-offs.”
The letter read, “Any fair-minded viewer of the videos will quickly conclude that the prosecution of Mr Combs is both sexist and puritanical. The videos depict clearly consensual sex among willing adults in a decades-long relationship and fundamentally undermine the government’s case and Victim-1’s claims.”
According to his team, complete, unabridged electronic copies are required to use their own experts to exploit the videos’ “full exculpatory value” ahead of the trial.
“Protective orders are common in criminal cases, and we have one in this case that prevents the defence from physically possessing certain evidence,” Combs’ defence attorney Marc Agnifilo said. “So, we applied to the Court to allow us to possess the video evidence so we can, for instance, enhance the audibility.”
Following the charges against him in September, Combs is currently incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after being denied bail three times.