A judge has rejected Diddy‘s plea to be put under house arrest on a private island while he awaits trial.
The musician, real name Sean Combs, appeared in court with his legal team on Friday (November 22) in New York City. His lawyers proposed that he could be detained in his mansion on Star Island in Florida – the same property that was raided by federal agents in March.
However, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian immediately rejected the idea, saying: “That is not going to work.”
Diddy’s lawyers offered an alternative solution where he could be under house arrest at his Upper East Side apartment with 24/7 security with two guards in the three-bedroom property with him. An additional guard would be stationed downstairs.
The lawyers proposed that Diddy would be denied internet or phone access unless he needed to communicate with his lawyers. The calls would be arranged through the security team. They argued the arrangement would be “substantially more restrictive” than Diddy’s current arrangement at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center. He would also not be allowed visitors apart from his lawyers.
Family visits would only be arranged if they received pre-trial approval and would be monitored by security.
Diddy. Credit: Samir Hussein/Getty
Combs, who rose to prominence in the ’90s after founding Bad Boy Records and signing the Notorious B.I.G., is the subject of over two dozen lawsuits, and he is also battling a criminal prosecution. He has been held in a federal jail in Brooklyn since his arrest on September 16.
He was denied bail after offering a $50million (£38.4m) bond, and was reportedly placed on suicide watch, while he has since appealed against the bail denial. He pleaded not guilty to an indictment that saw him charged with racketeering and sex trafficking, and his trial in the federal criminal case is set to begin on May 5 next year.
Earlier this week, another wave of sexual misconduct lawsuits were filed against him by five more anonymous accusers. Three men and two women claim they were drugged and sexually assaulted by him in incidents in New York and Miami dating back to 2001.
Meanwhile, Rolling Stone reported last week that, according to court filings the publication obtained, Combs has broken jail regulations by paying prison inmates to use their phone accounts, with prosecutors claiming they have the recordings of the various calls he has made.
His son King Combs announced earlier this month that he’d be controlling his father’s social media while in prison.
In other news, Dawn Richard, who sang with Danity Kane and Diddy-Dirty Money, and sued Combs in September, claiming that he threatened her life and “subjected her to years of inhumane working conditions”, leaving her “absolutely terrified” of him.
For more help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
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