Sept. 18 (UPI) — Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs will remain jailed while awaiting trial in the Southern District of New York federal court on sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation charges.
U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter Jr. denied Combs’ request for a $50 million bail amount after prosecutors said he is a flight risk, a danger to the community and might intimidate witnesses and obstruct justice.
Carter ordered Combs to remain in detention at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn while awaiting trial and throughout the trial’s duration.
Combs’ 14-page indictment, in which prosecutors accuse him of sex trafficking by force, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution, was unsealed Tuesday.
Federal prosecutors accuse Combs, 54, of establishing a “criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in … sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.”
The charges arise from allegations that Combs and others held sex parties that Combs called “freak offs” that included distributing drugs, transporting sex workers across state and international boundaries and forcing women to participate.
If convicted, Combs faces potentially more than two life sentences in federal prison.
Combs pleaded not guilty to the charges against him during an arraignment hearing Tuesday in the federal courthouse in Manhattan .
U.S. District Judge Robyn Tarnofsky denied Combs’ bail request Tuesday, but his attorneys appealed the ruling, which Judge Carter denied.
Tarnofsky said the crimes of which Combs is accused happen “behind closed doors” when initially ordering him to remain in custody.
Combs’ defense attorney Marc Agnifilo argued his client is “trustworthy” and could secure the $50 million bail with his Miami mansion worth an estimated $48 million.
Agnifilo also sought restricted travel for Combs, home detention and restricted visits from women if he were released.
The defense attorney said Combs sold his private plane and gave him his passport to hold along with the passports of five of his relatives.
Federal prosecutors accused Combs of trying to bribe security staff and threatening and interfering with witnesses of the alleged criminal acts.
