Cassie Venturasaid she is worried for her safety and moved her family out of New York ahead ofSean “Diddy” Combs‘ sentencing this week. “I am so scared that if he walks free, his first actions will be swift retribution towards me and others who spoke up,” the R&B singer, who is Combs’ ex-girlfriend, wrote in a victim impact statement. Her letter was submitted as part of the government’s sentencing recommendation forCombs, who was convicted in July on two counts of transporting for prostitution.
Prosecutors have recommended an 11-year sentence for the disgraced hip-hop mogul, while the defence seeks 14 months, which including time served would mean an almost immediate release. MsVenturawas the government’s key witness against Combs. She took the stand for four days, testifying that over the course of their 11 year relationship, Combs abused her physically and sexually, forcing her to participate in days-long, drug-fuelled sex-parties called “freak-offs”.
She reiterates those allegations in the letter – her first public reflection since testifying in the trial – which she says caused her “tremendous emotional pain”. Though the court found Combs guilty of transportation for prostitution of Ms Ventura and another ex-girlfriend “Jane”, he was cleared on the more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. Ms Ventura writes that the jury “failed to see” all of “the truths at hand” and that she hopes the judge would consider her fear and suffering in handing down a sentence.
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“If there is one thing I have learned from this experience, it is that victims and survivors will never be safe,” she said. “Although I can hope for justice and accountability, I have come to not trust anything.” The prosecution said there was precedence to give Combs a sentence of more than a decade. “His crimes of conviction are serious and have warranted sentences over ten years in multiple cases for defendants who, like Sean Combs, engaged in violence and put others in fear,” they wrote, requesting 11 year and three months.
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