Sean “Diddy” Combs can’t be charged for physically assaulting his ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel in 2016, local prosecutors say.
According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, charges won’t be filed against Combs because too much time has passed since the assault occurred.
“We are aware of the video that has been circulating online allegedly depicting Sean Combs assaulting a young woman in Los Angeles,” the D.A.’s office said in a statement. “We find the images extremely disturbing and difficult to watch. If the conduct depicted occurred in 2016, unfortunately we would be unable to charge as the conduct would have occurred beyond the timeline where a crime of assault can be prosecuted.”
Related Story: Cassie’s Lawyer Rips ‘Pathetic’ Diddy Apology Video
The statement was released shortly after CNN aired the hotel surveillance footage on May 17. The video showed Combs violently shoving and kicking Ventura in a hallway at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel.
Amid public outcry, Combs released a video statement on May 19, saying he was “truly sorry.”
“I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I’m disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it, I’m disgusted now. I went and I sought out professional help. I got into going to therapy, going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I’m so sorry. But I’m committed to be a better man each and every day. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m truly sorry,” he said in the video posted to Instagram.
An attorney for Ventura called the apology a sign of the music mogul’s “desperation,” and said it was too little too late
“No one will be swayed by his disingenuous words,” Meredith Firetog, a partner at New York law firm Wigdor LLP, said in a statement to Urban Hollywood 411.
Ventura detailed the hotel incident in her 35-page civil lawsuit, filed on Nov. 16, 2023.
The sexual abuse complaint alleged Combs paid the hotel to suppress the video. “Mr. Combs paid the InterContinental Century City $50,000 for the hallway security footage from that evening,” the lawsuit said.
Diddy settled Ventura’s lawsuit one day after it was filed. An attorney for the mogul said the settlement was not an “admission of wrongdoing.”
The rapper and producer has since been sued by three other women and male music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, all alleging sexual abuse.
In a statement in December, Combs insisted he was not guilty of the “awful things” his accusers alleged.
“Enough is enough. For the last couple of weeks, I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy,” he said. “Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged.”
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