Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Ex Cassie Ventura Will Testify Under Her Real Name at Sex Trafficking Trial
Written by djfrosty on April 7, 2025
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura will testify against him under her real name at his looming sex trafficking and racketeering trial, according to new court filings.
Ventura, whose civil rape lawsuit triggered the rapper’s downfall, will not use the pseudonym “Victim-1” when she takes the stand at his May trial and will instead “testify under her own name,” federal prosecutors told a judge in filings on Friday (April 4). But three other alleged victims of Combs should remain anonymous in court filings and at the trial, prosecutors wrote.
“This case has already received an exceptional amount of media coverage, which will presumably only increase as trial proceeds,” the government lawyers wrote. “Permitting these measures will prevent unnecessary public disclosure of the victims’ identities, and the harassment from the media and others, undue embarrassment, and other adverse consequences.”
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Combs, also known as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, was once one of the most powerful men in the music industry. But in November 2023, Cassie filed a civil lawsuit claiming he had repeatedly physically abused her over the course of their decade-long relationship, including one instance of rape. That case quickly ended with a settlement, but it sparked a cascade of allegations that has not yet stopped.
In September, Combs was indicted on charges that he misused the “employees, resources, and influence” of his business empire to “fulfill his sexual desires.” The case centers on elaborate “freak off” parties in which Combs and others would allegedly ply victims with drugs and then coerce them into having sex, as well as on alleged acts of violence to keep victims silent.
A trial is currently set to start on May 5. If convicted on all of the charges, Combs faces a potential life prison sentence.
Since filing her civil lawsuit under her real name, Cassie has been known as one of Combs’ accusers, but she has been listed in court documents only as “Victim-1.” The identities of three other women cited in court documents as Victim-2, Victim-3, and Victim-4 remain unknown.
In Friday’s filing, prosecutors said they wanted to keep it that way. They cited recent cases against R. Kelly, Ghislaine Maxwell and others in which judges allowed alleged victims to remain anonymous.
“The practice of allowing alleged victims of sexual abuse to testify under a pseudonym has been widely permitted because requiring alleged victims to publicly provide their names could chill their willingness to testify for fear of having their personal histories publicized and may cause further harassment or embarrassment,” prosecutors wrote. “There is no reason for this Court to deviate from that well-established practice here.”