Editor’s Note: This story contains discussions of rape or sexual assault that may be disturbing. Reader discretion is advised. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can find help and discreet resources on the National Sexual Assault Hotline website or by calling 1-800-656-4673.
(NewsNation) — Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, ex-girlfriend of Sean “Diddy” Combs, will be testifying in his upcoming sex trafficking trial using her own name instead of staying anonymous, People magazine reported.
Three others will also testify against Combs in his May 5 trial after he was charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Court motion shows Cassie Ventura will not testify anonymously: Reports
A motion was reportedly filed Friday, April 4, and it showed that prosecutors said “Victim-1” would not be testifying anonymously. People confirmed that 38-year-old Ventura is “Victim-1.”
In January, Rolling Stone had identified Ventura as “Victim-1.”
The filing reportedly said three others would be testifying anonymously.
Surveillance video shows Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, Cassie altercation: Reports
In March 2024, CNN released surveillance video that allegedly showed Ventura being chased and beaten by Combs in her hotel in March 2016.
The footage from inside the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles showed Ventura walking toward the elevators as Combs chased her, grabbing her by her neck and throwing her to the ground. It then shows him kicking her and grabbing her purse and suitcase.
The footage also allegedly shows Combs grabbing, kicking and shoving Ventura. It is also said it supports allegations she had made in a now-settled lawsuit in November 2023.
Combs’ legal team had claimed in a filing that CNN altered the footage by buying the only copy, uploading it to free editing software and editing the original.
“All CNN video footage was substantially altered in significant respects,” the letter to Judge Arun Subramanian read. “This includes covering the time stamp and then changing the video sequence. It also includes speeding up the video to make it falsely appear that the actions in the video are taking place faster than they are. As a result, the CNN videos do not fairly and accurately depict the events in question.”
At the time, Ventura’s attorney, Douglas Wigdor, told People, “It is not surprising that Combs would make a disingenuous argument to exclude the disturbing video from being shown to the jury in the upcoming trial. I am confident that the video fairly and accurately represents what happened, will be admitted into evidence and that Combs will be held accountable for his depravity.”
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs received additional charges in April: Reports
Combs was first charged in September 2024 with three counts of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. His latest indictment, which was made public on April 4, was one more count of sex trafficking and one more count of transportation to engage in prostitution, according to the Associated Press.
The indictment allegedly claimed that those charges are related to a second victim. It alleges, according to People, that Combs and his associates lured people in under the pretense of a relationship before using “force, threats of force and coercion” to get those individuals to participate in “freak-offs.” Prosecutors described those as “elaborate and produced sex performances” that Diddy allegedly coerced others to do.
Combs is currently in the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center — where alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione resides — as he waits for his trial on his federal charges to start. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
He is also named as a defendant in over 60 lawsuits that accuse him of sexual misconduct, according to People. Combs has also denied those allegations.