Billionaire music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs could be eligible to be prosecuted for allegedly abusing his girlfriend in Los Angeles in 2016 under a recently introduced bill being considered in the California Legislature.
The bill, authored by Sen. Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park), would allow accusers to file charges up to 15 years after the incident occurred.
“This is why I fight so hard to educate and encourage people to see through the lens of a victim,” said Rubio, who says she is a domestic violence survivor.
In 2019, Rubio promoted a bill to extend the statute of limitations from three to 20 years. Lawmakers ultimately agreed to extend the deadline to five years. Now Rubio is making another attempt, through Senate Bill 690, to extend it to 15 years.
For Rubio, five years “is not enough.”
His comments come a week after disturbing surveillance footage emerged showing Combs physically abusing his ex-girlfriend at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016. Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, a singer who dated Combs for 11 years, came forward with a lawsuit against him last year.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office called the video “difficult to watch” in a statement after its release. Still, authorities said they cannot press charges.
“If the conduct described occurred in 2016, unfortunately we would not be able to file charges as the conduct would have occurred beyond the time frame in which an assault offense can be prosecuted,” the statement said.
The American Civil Liberties Union of California said it respects the goal of promoting justice for survivors of domestic violence but opposed the 2019 bill.
“We fear that the extension proposed by this bill will threaten the rights of defendants and remove the incentive for authorities and prosecutors to more quickly address reports of domestic violence in the first instance,” he wrote.
Rubio said if his bill passes, Ventura could file charges. The bill is currently under consideration in the Assembly.
