Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs seeks trial next spring on sex trafficking charges

Sean “Diddy” Combs is set to make his first appearance before the judge who is expected to preside over the hip-hop powerbroker’s trial on sex trafficking charges.

Combs will be brought to Manhattan federal court from a Brooklyn jail this afternoon for an appearance before Judge Arun Subramanian.

The hearing is expected to result in deadlines being set for lawyers on each side to submit arguments that will establish the boundaries for a trial that Combs’ lawyers want to start in April or May.

Prosecutors have not expressed a preference for when the trial might occur.

The judge was assigned to the case after another judge recused himself based on his past associations with lawyers in the case.

Combs, 54, has pleaded not guilty to charges lodged against him last month. Those charges included racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking based on allegations that go back to 2008.

An indictment alleges Combs coerced and abused women for years with help from a network of associates and employees while silencing victims through blackmail and violent acts including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings.

His lawyers have been trying unsuccessfully to get the founder of Bad Boy Records freed on bail since his arrest on 16 September.

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.

Two judges have concluded that Combs is a danger to the community if he is freed. At a bail hearing three weeks ago, a judge rejected a $50 million bail package, including home detention and electronic monitoring, after concluding that Combs was a threat to tamper with witnesses and obstruct a continuing investigation.