Lawyers: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs seeks trial next April or May on sex trafficking charges

NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs wants to go to trial on sex trafficking charges next spring, lawyers for the jailed hip-hop mogul told a judge on Wednesday.

His preference for a trial in April or May was mentioned in a joint letter in which his lawyers and prosecutors advised a judge about what they expect to discuss at a hearing on Thursday in Manhattan federal court. Prosecutors said they will be available for trial but did not specify when they want it to occur.

Combs, 54, has been locked up since his Sept. 16 arrest on charges alleging that he has physically and sexually abused women for years. He has pleaded not guilty.

The indictment alleges Combs coerced and abused women with the aid of a network of associates and employees, while using blackmail and violent acts including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings to keep victims from speaking out.

His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, has said prosecutors are seeking to criminalize consensual sex that his client has engaged in.

He has said Combs plans to clear his name at trial.

The letter submitted to Judge Arun Subramanian, who is expected to preside over the trial, contained no mention of continued detention without bail for Combs after two other judges in separate proceedings concluded that no bail conditions could ensure the community would be protected if Combs was released.

Late Tuesday, lawyers for Combs asked the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan in court papers to reverse the detention orders and permit his release pending trial.

Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr., who has since recused himself from the case, concluded after a lengthy bail hearing three weeks ago that prosecutors had presented “clear and convincing evidence” that Combs is a danger to the community because he might obstruct the ongoing investigation or tamper with witnesses.

Lawyers for Combs, though, argued in their appeals papers that Carter had rejected a proposed $50 million bail package that would include home detention for “purely speculative reasons.”

“Indeed, hardly a risk of flight, he is a 54-year-old father of seven, a U.S. citizen, an extraordinarily successful artist, businessman, and philanthropist, and one of the most recognizable people on earth,” the lawyers wrote.

They said Carter had “endorsed the government’s exaggerated rhetoric and ordered Mr. Combs detained.”

In their joint letter submitted in advance of Thursday’s hearing, prosecutors said they have begun turning over to defense lawyers some of the “voluminous” evidence in the case, including portions of several terabytes of material that contains electronically stored information from Combs and others.

Among items already turned over are a complete set of search warrants in the case, along with a phone of Combs that was seized in March and reports on two of his iCloud accounts, they said. Prosecutors told the judge that the government has begun copying over 40 devices and five other iCloud accounts belonging to Combs.