Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sex Trafficking Trial: Ex-Hotel Guard & Stripper Deliver Key Testimony

The first day of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ high-profile sex trafficking trial on March 12 revealed disturbing new details about the 2016 hotel assault involving the rapper’s ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura. One person’s testimony centered on the alleged assault and subsequent attempts to cover it up, offering a deeper look into Combs’ behavior and the lengths he allegedly went to conceal it. Jurors also heard from a male stripper who claimed he was paid “a few thousand” dollars to have sex with Ventura as Combs watched.

Former hotel security guard claimed he was bribed by Combs to cover up the assault video.

According to NBC News, one of the key witnesses was Israel Florez, a former hotel security guard who now serves as a Los Angeles police officer. Florez recounted responding to a disturbance at the InterContinental Hotel in March 2016, where he discovered a visibly shaken woman—later identified as Ventura—curled in a hallway corner near a smashed flower vase. Surveillance footage reportedly captured Combs dragging and kicking her moments earlier.

According to Florez, Combs, who was wearing only a towel, attempted to bribe him with a sack of cash, urging him to stay quiet after he responded to the incident. Combs allegedly told him they were arguing and tried to stop a visibly “scared” Cassie from walking away and getting her phone. Florez said he blocked the Grammy-award-winning artist from following her, putting his body in the doorway and standing for a few minutes, allowing the singer to leave the room.

“I started to leave and (Combs) called for me,” Florez said. “He had a sack of money and he threw it at me and said, ‘Don’t tell anyone.’”

After offering the alleged “bribe” money, Florez said the mogul allegedly tried to seize the security guards’ phones, fearing he was being recorded.

“We said we are not recording you and de-escalated the situation,” he added.

Male stripper testifies, claims he witnessed Combs assault Ventura. 

Later, another witness—a male stripper named Daniel Phillip—testified that he was paid thousands of dollars to engage in sex acts with Ventura while Combs observed, describing an incident from around 2012 or 2013.

The stripper claimed he was paid a few thousand dollars to have sex with Ventura as they rubbed baby oil on one another, according to NBC News. Combs allegedly sat in a corner watching as he masturbated.  

Phillips continued to have intercourse with Ventura after that encounter. According to his testimony, Combs would often instruct him on how to have sex with the singer, guiding them on how to roleplay and when to orgasm, among other sex acts. Phillip said the New York-bred artist offered him drugs on one occasion, but he declined. He noted one incident where Ventura appeared to be heavily under the influence of drugs.

 “She looked like she was completely passed out, half on the couch and half off the couch,” Phillip alleged.

In one account, he recalled Combs becoming enraged when Cassie didn’t respond to him immediately, allegedly throwing a liquor bottle at her, then dragging her by the hair into a bedroom where he appeared to physically assault her. Phillip said he was too frightened to intervene, noting that several bodyguards were present.

In a separate incident at the Essex Hotel, Phillip testified that he heard sounds of Cassie crying and what he believed was a violent altercation behind closed doors. 

He later saw Combs leave the room wearing only a towel, and Cassie, visibly shaken, ran to Phillip for comfort. Despite her reassurance that she would be fine, Phillip said he urged her to seek help, expressing concern over the abuse he had witnessed.

“She basically tried to convince me that ‘it’s OK’ and ‘I’ll be OK,’” Phillip told the judge. “And I said, ‘It is not OK and you need to get help.’”

Combs’ defense team insisted that all victims willingly participated in his wild sex fantasies.

Prosecutors stated earlier in the day that for years Ventura tried to break free from Combs’ abusive behavior, but was threatened by the release of “videos of sex acts Combs forced her to participate in.”

In their opening remarks, Combs’ defense team acknowledged that the music mogul had a history of anger issues and admitted to instances of domestic violence and unusual sexual behavior. However, they argued that his actions, while regrettable, do not constitute federal crimes. Attorney Teny Geragos stated that Combs was not proud of certain past behaviors but maintained that all of the sexual encounters in question involved consenting adults and claimed all of the accusers were motivated to lie for a “money grab.”

“We will not shy away from the things he did, but we will not own the things he did not do,” Geragos told jurors. “He is physical, he is a drug user, you may know of his love of baby oil. Is that a federal crime? No!” 

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