Cassie Ventura Prepares to Testify Against Diddy — Other Victims Will Remain Anonymous

Photo Credit: David Shankbone / CC by 3.0

Cassie Ventura is set to testify against her former partner Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs using her real name instead of the ‘Victim 1’ designation. She will tell the court about her relationship with the rap mogul during his upcoming trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges.

She is one of four victims who are set to testify in court at Comb’s trial—and the first to make public allegations against the rap mogul. Ventura sued Diddy in November 2023 for what she alleges is a decade-long cycle of sexual assault—with the abuse beginning in 2005 when she was 19 and signed to Bad Boy Records. That lawsuit described beatings, forced drug usage, and coercive sexual acts with other men while Diddy filmed them.

Leaked video of an incident between Diddy and Ventura shows the rapper running down a hotel hallway to intercept Ventura at the elevators, preventing her from leaving. He drags her back to the room by her hair after kicking and assaulting her. That incident occurred in 2016 at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles, with CNN publishing the video in May 2024. The video seems to corroborate an account in Ventura’s initial lawsuit. Combs settled that lawsuit one day after filing it with no admission of wrongdoing.

In a Friday motion submitted by prosecutors, federal attorneys said ‘Victim-1’ will no longer testify anonymously during the trial. “[Ventura] is prepared to testify under her own name. Victim-2, Victim-3, and Victim-4 have asked that their identities not be revealed to the press or public,” writes the prosecution, which seeks to use pseudonyms for those accusers. Combs’ lawyers have asked judges to unmask his accusers and force them to make their names public.

Combs faces five counts on three charges of racketeering, sex trafficking by force, and transportation to engage in prostitution. The rap mogul has pleaded not guilty. Combs is facing more than 55 lawsuits in New York federal and state courts—with around 40 of thos elawsuits filed under ‘Jane Doe’ or ‘John Doe’ pseudonyms.

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