Editor’s picks One vignette offered during Ventura’s testimony illustrates the link between violence, abuse, and trafficking.
According to Ventura, Combs demanded that she disembark from the yacht in response to a perceived slight.
However, it is well known that victims of domestic abuse often seek out ways to please their abusers to stop the cycle of abuse.
In other words, sex trafficking.
And also domestic violence.
With its graphic accounts of his now-famous “freak-offs,” the ongoing trial of Sean Combs has enthralled the country. Behind the sexiness, however, lies a crucial point: domestic violence is a vital tool for controlling and gaining power over a partner, which can then be purposefully used to commit major federal crimes like forced labor and sex trafficking.
The goal of Combs’ defense team’s opening statement was to portray his mistreatment of star witness Casandra “Cassie” Ventura as domestic abuse rather than sex trafficking, as though the two are incompatible. The jurors were informed twice that domestic violence is not the same as sex trafficking. Despite acknowledging that his extreme violence against Ventura was “dehumanizing,” “horrible,” and “indefensible,” they maintained that he never forced Ventura to participate in their freak-offs. The defense argues that Ventura engaged in these activities voluntarily and voluntarily and that his emotional and physical abuse were the result of jealous outbursts brought on by drugs.
However, in order to control their victims, sex traffickers frequently employ psychological and physical abuse that is planned and carried out over months or years. In the end, their victims give in to the demands of their abusers; they are aware of the repercussions of failing to comply and will endure humiliating treatment in order to prevent more abuse. I witnessed this when I worked as a federal prosecutor in Brooklyn and brought charges against R. Kelly, a RandB musician, for forcing women and girls to perform sexual services for his personal gain. Combs’ purported actions align with this pattern as well.
Ventura bravely testified about the various ways Combs gained and kept control over her over the course of their ten-year relationship. She was relatively new to the music industry and had no sexual experience when they first started dating at the age of 21. At the age of 17, Combs was already a successful rapper, producer, and business magnate. According to Ventura’s testimony, Combs had complete control over her “career,” “the way [she] dressed, like, everything.”. Every single thing. She stated in court that he severely abused Ventura, kicking, stomping, and dragging her by her hair. Once, again, and again. Photographs of her injuries and the terrifying video at the InterContinental Hotel show the jury his brutality. Witnesses have been called by the prosecution to detail Combs’ various forms of abuse, and throughout the trial, we should anticipate hearing more testimony supporting his actions.
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Ventura’s testimony includes a vignette that demonstrates the connection between trafficking, abuse, and violence. Ventura stated in her testimony that she and Combs stayed on a friend’s yacht while attending a film festival in France. In response to what Ventura claims was a slight, Combs ordered her to leave the yacht. Following orders, she stepped off the boat barefoot and without a single item of personal belonging, including her passport. Later that evening, at an event, she described to the jury how Combs painfully pressed her beaded dress onto her bare skin by violently squeezing her thigh. She had her seat moved to avoid him on the flight back to the US, but he still managed to get into the seat next to her.
Following that, Combs played “freak-off” videos of Ventura in front of other passengers, explicitly warning her that he would release the footage to further embarrass her. He told her that he wanted another freak-off when they touched down. As expected, she gave in. If Ventura is given credit by the jury, it is hardly a stretch to assume that she complied because she was aware of Combs’ purposeful, unmistakable warning: Give me what I want, or I will seriously hurt you. A victim’s will is broken in this way by a pattern of abuse. Coercion is that. Sex trafficking is that.
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When his attorneys pointed out text messages that appeared to show Ventura enjoying certain freak-offs and being a willing participant, they undoubtedly gained favor with the jury. To break the cycle of abuse, victims of domestic abuse, however, are known to look for ways to appease their abusers. Ventura’s text messages might have served as one illustration. Maybe her perspective on these freak-offs evolved over time.
In any case, prosecutors should expect to show the jury, at the conclusion of the trial, that Combs had a deliberate plan to make Ventura think that if she didn’t comply with his constant demands for freak-offs, he would make her pay. through mistreating her physically. by making certain she didn’t put out another album. Additionally, by making sex tapes public, they humiliated her. Alternatively put, sex trafficking. Moreover, domestic violence exists.
