*Cassie Ventura has issued a powerful plea to the court ahead of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sentencing, urging Judge Arun Subramanian to consider her testimony and the experiences of other victims as the rap mogul awaits his fate.
In a letter filed Tuesday, Ventura wrote that she has come to accept “victims and survivors will never be safe” but expressed “hope for justice and accountability” through the court’s decision, ABC News reports. The former singer described years of trauma stemming from her relationship with Combs, which she said escalated from affection to violence, coercion, and exploitation.
Ventura testified for four days during Diddy’s trial in May, detailing alleged abuse during her on-and-off relationship with the music mogul that spanned more than a decade. She recounted being forced into what he called “freak-offs,” drug-fueled sex parties that left her “with infections, illnesses, and days of physical and emotional exhaustion before he demanded it all again.”
The letter also referenced video evidence shown at trial, writing: “The entire courtroom watched actual footage of Combs kicking and beating me as I tried to run away from a freak off in 2016. People watched this footage dozens of times, seeing my body thrown to the ground, my hands over my head, curled into a fetal position to shield me from the worst blows.”
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Ventura said her years with Combs left her “in a constant state of hypervigilance” and tied her substance use to his demands, adding, “I used those drugs to push through the horrifying sex acts he demanded and to numb myself to the physical pain and emotional turmoil I was constantly in.” She rejected defense attorneys’ claim that her relationship with Combs was “a great modern love story.”
Since their 2019 breakup, Ventura has worked to heal but told the court she continues to experience “nightmares and flashbacks on a regular, everyday basis” and fears retaliation if Combs is released. She wrote: “I know that who he was to me—the manipulator, the aggressor, the abuser, the trafficker—is who he is as a human. He has no interest in changing or becoming better.”
Prosecutors are pushing for an 11-year sentence, while Combs’ defense urges leniency. Sentencing is set for Friday, October 3, with the father of seven facing up to 20 years behind bars after his conviction on two prostitution-related counts.
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