The fourth week of testimony in the Sean “Diddy” Combs sex trafficking trial began with the mogul’s former assistant, who used the pseudonym “Mia,” being grilled by the defense.
On Monday, June 2, the woman spent most of the day facing scrutiny by defense attorney Brian Steel as he worked to cast doubt on claims she made last week that she was verbally, physically, and sexually abused by Combs, CNN reported.
In cross-examination, Mia admitted she never reported any of the alleged abuse to police, nor did she ask anyone else to go to authorities.
Related: Diddy Turned Home Upside Down Searching for Cassie, Including ‘In the Oven’
As Steel chipped away at her previous statements, Mia said she didn’t notify the human resources department at her job either, telling the court: “Human resources only punished me unjustly.”
“They wouldn’t have believed me and I would’ve been fired immediately,” she testified, adding that if she had spoken up, she felt she would’ve been portrayed as “a crazy person making everything up.”
When asked why she didn’t just leave the job, Mia said she believed she “would’ve been stripped of any credibility.”
“I just knew his power and his wrath,” she said about Diddy.
Steel then asked her if she was looking for a payday by making accusations against her former boss.
“You want money from Mr. Combs based on your testimony, is that right?” he asked.
“No,” she replied.
Mia started working for Diddy in 2009 at age 25 as a personal assistant and later rose to an executive role at Revolt Films, as previously reported.
Last week, she told the court she once had to work five days straight without sleep, relying on the prescription ADHD drug Adderall to stay awake. She also alleged she was sexually assaulted by Diddy multiple times over the years.
So far, the trial has seen more than 16 witnesses take the stand, with many accusing the music mogul of abuse.
Prosecutors are expected to call Eddy Garcia, a former security worker at the InterContinental Hotel is Los Angeles, where surveillance cameras recorded Combs physically attacking his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura.
On May 12, a man who previously worked on the hotel’s security team testified that he secretly recorded his own copy of the footage. The man said he responded to Diddy’s room that day and the mogul tried to bribe him.
“I started to leave and [Combs] called for me,” Israel Florez testified. “He had a sack of money and he threw it at me and said, ‘Don’t tell anyone.’”
Florez told the court he declined the money. He said Combs got aggressive, but he “pinned” the mogul to a wall.
Later this week, another accuser known as “Jane” is scheduled testify against Combs, CNN reports.
Federal prosecutors have charged the mogul with five counts, including sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
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