Disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly was once worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but he is now serving what amounts to a life sentence in federal prison.
After decades of sexual abuse allegations and an acquittal on child pornography charges, a docuseries titled “Surviving R. Kelly” finally gave his accusers a voice and helped bring down the singer. Within six months of its broadcast, Kelly was facing federal prosecution in New York.
He was found guilty not only of sex trafficking but also of extortion: charges that specify that a person's “enterprise” was used to carry out criminal conduct.
Sean “Diddy” Combs now faces a similar federal investigation, although the allegations against him are significantly different and it is unclear whether they will result in criminal charges.
Authorities have said little about the investigation. But law enforcement sources have confirmed to the Times that Combs is under investigation for sex trafficking linked, at least in part, to civil lawsuits filed by several women who accused him of misconduct.
Combs has denied any wrongdoing and his lawyers have criticized the investigation as unwarranted.
After federal agents searched the entertainer's homes in Florida and Los Angeles several weeks ago, his lawyer decried a “premature rush to prosecute Mr. Combs” and said the investigation “is nothing more than a witch hunt based on accusations.” without foundation formulated in civil lawsuits.” .”
Still, previous high-profile sex trafficking cases could offer a window into how the feds typically build a case and may provide clues about what officials they would need to file charges.
“The playbook for these types of cases is R. Kelly, Jeffrey Epstein, Larry Ray and NXIVM founder Keith Raniere,” said Elizabeth Geddes, who presented a six-hour closing argument to determine Kelly's conviction.
In November, Combs' ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura, the singer known as Cassie, accused him in a rape lawsuit. After a day, he settled in.
Three other women have since sued Combs, accusing him of rape, sex trafficking, assault and other abuse. One of the accusations involved a minor. A producer also sued him for unwanted sexual contact.
Geddes, who is not involved in the Combs case, said she believes Ventura could have been the trigger for the federal investigation.
He said the Kelly docuseries prompted the Eastern District of New York to act, and that kind of high-level investigation often requires an outside catalyst. In Kelly's case, he was acquitted in 2008 and, as a result, many of his accusers lost trust in law enforcement. But the documentary involved the authorities again.
“Nothing puts more pressure on authorities than a front-page article in the biggest newspaper in town,” Geddes said.
The Combs investigation, led by Homeland Security, has been going on for several months, according to sources, and many associated with the case, including accusers and alleged witnesses, have already been interviewed.
Geddes said Homeland Security Investigations also worked on Kelly's case and that its agents tend to have years of experience working with sex trafficking victims.
He said sex trafficking requires “force, fraud or coercion to cause a person to engage in a commercial sex act” or the trafficking of minors under 18 years of age.
“There is no statute of limitations,” Geddes said, and key law enacted in the 2000s applies to laws from 2001 onward.
Geddes said that in addition to the sex charges against Kelly, she and her colleagues secured a racketeering charge against the singer. The charge has famously been applied to mob bosses such as John Gotti and James “Whitey” Bulger.
In extortion cases, Geddes said, the “enterprise” engages in illegal conduct and prosecutors seek to show a broader pattern of conduct that spans years and involves many participants. An extortion case also allows for the narrative of multiple victims in one trial.
Racketeering became a federal crime in 1970 under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO.
Over the years, its use has expanded. It is often used against gangs, from the Mexican Mafia to the South Los Angeles Crips. Extortion cases have also been filed against rappers associated with street gangs, including Young Thug, Kay Flock, Casanova and Fetty Wap.
Federal prosecutors have secured racketeering convictions not only against Kelly, but also against other sex traffickers, including NXIVM founder Raniere and Larry Ray, whose crimes were profiled in the documentary series “Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence.” ”.
A law enforcement officer carries a bag of evidence as federal agents stand at the entrance to a property belonging to Sean “Diddy” Combs in Miami on March 25.
(Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press)
But it's unclear what evidence the feds have against Combs and whether there's enough to file charges.
Few details are available, other than sources saying investigators left his two homes with electronics, data devices and other records.
Legal experts have told the Times that evidence in sex trafficking cases must be extensive, since such charges can be difficult to prove.
“Adult sex trafficking usually involves some type of coercion or other restrictions,” said Los Angeles defense attorney Dmitry Gorin. Prosecutors would have to prove that you “encouraged someone to engage in sexual activity for money or some other inducement.”
Aaron Dyer, one of Combs' attorneys, noted in a statement released after the raids that “no criminal or civil liability has been found with any of these accusations.”
The mother of Combs' son, Justin Dior Combs, also criticized the investigation and the raids.
“The overzealous and overtly militarized force used against my sons Justin and Christian is deplorable,” designer Misa Hylton said after posting a video showing federal agents dressed in military gear pointing a gun at Combs' sons. “If these were the children of a non-black celebrity, they would not have been treated with the same aggression. The attempt to humiliate and terrorize these innocent young black men is despicable!
Federal sex trafficking and sexual assault laws also allow prosecutors to present evidence demonstrating a modus operandi.
“At the R. Kelly trial, several women testified about what Kelly did to them as part of a pattern of conduct. “It's very similar to what people saw in the Harvey Weinstein prosecution,” Geddes said.
If prosecutors file charges against Combs, they could also allege the use of forced labor under threat, Geddes said. Ventura, Combs' ex-girlfriend, alleged that she was forced to perform sexual acts with other men and suffered physical harm for complaining about her. If true, this could be considered forced labor, Geddes said.
Kelly was found guilty of eight counts of the Mann Act, passed in 1910 and which sought to criminalize what is now known as human trafficking. Initially, the law prohibited transporting a woman or girl across state lines “for the purposes of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose.”
The Mann Act now covers transportation across state lines “with [the] intention for said person to engage in prostitution or any sexual activity for which any person may be charged with a criminal offense.”
In the allegations against Combs, a woman said she was brought from Detroit when she was 17 to Combs' studios so he could rape her and his classmates, Geddes said.
Before the highly publicized searches of Combs' properties were executed, Geddes said, prosecutors and HSI agents had to “have made some progress in the investigations.”
“What we can say at this point is that there was enough probable cause to convince a magistrate to issue a search warrant,” he said. “Before obtaining such a warrant, officers have typically interviewed several witnesses.”
Geddes said those types of searches typically seek corroboration of evidence because high-profile people tend to work with others to commit those crimes. In Kelly's case, Geddes said, her storage facility turned out to be a gold mine. She kept message sheets, handwritten notes and emails to pick up women and girls. And there were “videos, a lot of videos,” she said.
“We had so much evidence presented in Kelly that it was difficult to include it all in the closing,” Geddes said. “She used her money and her public persona to hide her crimes in plain sight,” she told jurors at the time.
