Sean “Diddy” Combs allegedly sexually assaulted a teenager in Englewood NJ

Hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs and R&B singer Aaron Hall allegedly took turns in the sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl in a Bergen County apartment in 1990, while Jodeci member DeVanté Swing did nothing to stop it, according to a recently amended lawsuit filed in federal court in New Jersey.

Liza Gardner is seeking more than $10 million for financial, physical and mental damages in New Jersey state court against Bad Boys Records founder Hall and Swing, who was added as a co-defendant on October 8, and their record labels. Gardner claims she was involved in a sex trafficking scheme in which she and her 15-year-old girlfriend were drugged, given alcohol and taken to Hall’s home in Englewood, where Gardner was raped. The next day, she was attacked and strangled by Combs until she lost consciousness, according to the charges.

The explosive lawsuit, initially filed in 2023 in a New York district court before being refiled and amended in New Jersey earlier this month, is one in a flurry of mounting legal troubles for Combs, 54, who is known as “Diddy” or his previous stage name “Puff Daddy.”

The embattled rapper is now facing more than a dozen civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault and rape Five new accusers have emerged in the past week with claims dating back to 2000 to 2022. Among the latest are a woman who claims she was 13 when she was attacked by then-30-year-old Combs at a 2020 MTV Video Music Awards afterparty. and a personal trainer from celebrities who accuse Combs of sexually assaulting him at an awards show afterparty in 2022.

The weekly lawsuits against Combs appear to be just the tip of the iceberg. Earlier this month, Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee said at a news conference that he was preparing lawsuits of 120 people alleging sexual abuse and assault. And those are just Buzbee’s customers; Tyrone Blackburn, a Brooklyn attorney, is representing Gardner in her legal filings.

Combs’ legal troubles follow his September arrest And arraignment for sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to participate in prostitution charges. The rapper, who has maintained his innocence throughout all legal cases and proceedings, is in the custody of a Brooklyn Detention Center after he was denied bail.

Criminal charges and lawsuits against Combs come nearly a year after the rapper and R&B singer’s ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura, known professionally as Cassie, accused Combs of rapesex trafficking and physical abuse. Combs and Ventura settled for an undisclosed amount a day after the filing — though her willingness to come forward led to a plethora of other lawsuits.

Yonatan Jacobs, who is listed as Combs’ attorney for the Gardner case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, saying he was out of the office through Oct. 25. Sher Tremonte attorneys and Jacobs’ colleagues Michael Tremonte and Anna Estevao, both linked to Combs in other legal filings, also did not immediately respond to requests.

However, Combs’ legal team has repeatedly shared the same response with USA TODAY regarding the legal filings against him, stating that they are confident in the facts, their legal defense and the integrity of the judicial process.

“In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted anyone – adult or minor, male or female.”

Hall, who lives in Ohio, and Swing, of North Carolina, were served with the amended lawsuit on Oct. 23 and their respective attorneys have yet to appear, according to court records.

Inside the Englewood apartment, Sean “Diddy” Combs allegedly raped the 16-year-old

Combs was known for hosting lavish, star-studded parties that investigators say led to freak-offs, or sexual performances that he allegedly arranged and recorded, to “fulfill his sexual desires.”

In the late summer/early fall of 1990, Gardner said she was invited to New Jersey from her home in North Carolina by her friends Swing and Dalvin DeGrate, who are brothers, as well as fellow Jodeci members (and brothers) K-Ci and JoJo. . The quartet was signed to Uptown Records and produced by Combs and given a home in New Jersey, paid for by their record label.

After attending a music industry event in New York City and having dinner with Jodeci, Combs and Hall, where Gardner said she and her friend were given alcohol and marijuana, the girls were taken to Hall’s apartment in Englewood, the complaint said. At the time, Hall was part of the R&B group Guy, which achieved success in the late 1980s.

After being offered more alcohol, Gardner said she was physically forced to have sex with Combs. Unknown to Gardner at the time, Swing was in the room when the attack occurred “and took no steps to prevent the abuse,” according to the newly amended filing. Swing is listed as a “presumed co-guardian” of Gardner, as he was 21 years old, just a few months older than Combs at the time. He is accused of ‘aiding and abetting’ the assault by treating her rape as a ‘live pornographic film’.

Gardner said that after Combs was done, she was left “shocked and traumatized,” and while she was getting dressed, Hall “barged into the room, held her down” and forced her to have sex, according to the complaint. Another friend later shared with Gardner that she also had sex with Combs and Hall, and that the men switched rooms between the girls, the complaint said.

The next day, Combs allegedly went to the New Jersey home where Gardner was staying and became enraged, attacking Gardner and choking him until she became unconscious, the complaint alleges. Combs had reportedly been looking for her friend, who he feared might report the attack the night before, and asked Gardner where she was. When Gardner said she wasn’t sure, Combs allegedly strangled her, the lawsuit said, citing an affidavit written by a friend of Gardner’s.

The lawsuit includes a photo of Gardner, Hall and her friend, whose face is blurred, the day of the alleged incident, and also cites video clips from interviews Hall has done over the years, including one with VladTV, in which he appears to Jodeci and “Puffy” saw him having sex.

A therapist said Gardner, who she treated in 2014, disclosed the alleged rapes to her and cited in her notes that she believed Gardner was experiencing symptoms of anxiety, hypervigilance, panic attacks and depression, all symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The lawsuit alleges a plethora of physical and mental ailments, from physical pain and mental trauma to reduced enjoyment of life.

The lawsuit also names UMG Recordings, Universal Music Group and several unnamed parties.

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