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The
second lawsuit accuses the jailed hip-hop mogul of similarly
assaulting a 17-year-old would-be contestant on the reality
television series “Making the Band" in 2008.
The lawsuits filed in state Supreme Court in New York are the
latest in a wave of lawsuits in which accusers allege they were
sexually assaulted by Combs at parties and meetings over the
last two decades.
Combs' lawyers denied the two new claims Monday and accused the
plaintiffs' lawyer, Anthony Buzbee, who also represents accusers
in earlier lawsuits, of seeking publicity.
“Mr. Combs and his legal team have full confidence in the facts
and the integrity of the judicial process,” an emailed statement
said. "In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs never
sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone—man or woman, adult or
minor.”
Combs, 54, is incarcerated in a New York City jail after
pleading not guilty to federal sex trafficking charges contained
in an indictment unsealed the day after his Sept. 16 arrest.
Charges include allegations he coerced and abused women and
silenced victims through blackmail and violence.
The 10-year-old boy who was not identified in the lawsuit was an
aspiring actor and rapper who had traveled with his parents from
California for meetings with music industry representatives.
During what was supposed to be an audition for Combs, he was
given a drug-laced soda by a Combs' associate and sexually
assaulted by the Bad Boy Records founder, according to the
lawsuit.
The boy eventually lost consciousness. When he awoke, Combs
threatened to badly hurt the child's parents if he told anyone
what happened, the filing said.
In a second lawsuit, a 17-year-old unidentified male said Combs
forced him into sexual acts with Combs and a bodyguard during a
three-day audition for the “Making the Band” television show,
which Combs produced.
When the aspiring contestant expressed reservations, he was
eliminated from the competition and unable to return to the
music industry for seven years, according to the filing.
Both lawsuits were brought under New York City's Victims of
Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act, which allows survivors
to bring lawsuits even if the statute of limitations has passed.
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