Joe Yates
Warning: This article contains discussion of violence which some readers may find distressing.
As Diddy's trial continues, singer Dawn Richard has taken the stand to claim that she allegedly witnessed the disgraced rapper be violent with ex-girlfriend Cassie.
The singer was signed on Sean 'Diddy' Combs' Bad Boy Records label from 2005 until 2011, and in that time, she alleged to have witnessed Casandra Ventura, stage name Cassie, being assaulted a number of times by the producer.
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Combs and 38-year-old Cassie were on-and-off dating for more than a decade, having officially entered into a relationship in 2007 - after two years of working together.
Speaking in court today, prosecutor Christy Slavik said per Inner City Press: "When Mr. Combs told you people could go missing, how did you interpret it?"
The 41-year-old songstress Richard replied: "That people could die. I couldn't believe that this could be the beginning of a journey for us."
Slavik then asked Richard about the alleged assault that she had witnessed take place between Combs and Ventura.
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Cassie was 19 years old when she was signed by a then-37-year-old Combs, who owns the label Bad Boy Records.
Slavik continued: "What did you observe?"
Richard claimed: "He would drag her and kick her and punch her in the mouth."
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She was then asked to clarify what she believed prompted the 55-year-old to allegedly beat Ventura when they dated, to which she claimed would occur 'when she would speak up for herself'.
Richard was further quizzed on who saw these attacks, to which she explained two members of the disgraced producer's security team.
The line of inquiry continued by Slavik: "Where did Ms. Ventura get hit?"
"Her knees, her face, all over," Richard replied.
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She then went into detail about a specific incident she claims took place while she was in Central Park, New York, for a music festival and was at Combs' residence at the time.
Richard told the court: "He punched Cassie. She came into the bathroom crying. You could see her upset. Like, she was hurt-"
At which point Combs' defense lawyer Nicole Westmoreland objected, which the judge agreed with.
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Richard also claimed to have witnessed Cassie with a 'swollen eye' as well as mentioning how she saw Combs allegedly 'slap Cassie in the mouth' and told her to 'shut the f*ck up'.
She went on to explain how she feared for her safety and so never intervened in their relationship.
"I asked myself, If he did that to someone he supposedly loved, what he do to an employee? So I'd approach Mr. Combs with softness," she added.
Combs has been charged with racketeering and sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, charges he's continued to deny.
The indictment accuses Combs and others in his enterprise of 'wield[ing] the power and prestige of Combs' role at the Combs Business to intimidate, threaten and lure female victims into Combs' orbit, often under the pretence of a romantic relationship'.
With the 'assistance of members and associates', the document claims Combs 'transported commercial sex workers across state lines and internationally' and 'then used force, threats of force, and coercion, to cause victims to engage in extended sex acts with male commercial sex workers that Combs referred to as, among other things, "freak offs"'.
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org
More to follow.