Despite shocking surveillance videos appearing to show Sean “Diddy” Combs violently attacking his ex-girlfriend in a hotel in 2016, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office announced it was “unable” to file charges against the hip-hop mogul.
District Attorney George Gascón’s office confirmed in a statement that it had “knowledge of the video” and called the clip “disturbing and difficult to watch.” But it also said the attack, which took place on March 5, 2016, “occurred after the time at which a crime of assault can be prosecuted.”
Under California law, the statute of limitations for simple assault is one year, but for aggravated assault it is three years.
“To date, law enforcement has not presented a case related to the attack on Mr. Combs depicted in the video,” Gascón said in a statement posted on Instagram late Friday night.
The statement came hours after CNN released a compilation of surveillance clips showing Diddy and his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Century City.
The rapper, wearing only a towel around his waist, can be seen chasing Ventura down the hotel hallway, grabbing her by the neck and then throwing her to the ground. The video also shows him kicking her twice as she lies motionless on the ground before finally grabbing her by her sweatshirt and dragging her back down the hallway.
Combs and Ventura, a model and singer known for songs such as “Me & U,” had an on-off relationship between 2007 and 2018.
In a lawsuit filed in November, Ventura alleged that the two began a sexual and professional relationship shortly after they met in 2005, when she was 19 and he was 37. She claimed the relationship quickly turned abusive, and the music mogul regularly threatened her career and loved ones to maintain his influence over her.
Ventura further claimed that Diddy forced her to perform various acts with male sex workers. He also pumped her full of drugs and recorded some of the encounters, she said. When she finally tried to end things in 2018, Combs raped her in her LA home, according to the lawsuit.
The complaint also describes an incident whose details appear to match what was seen in recently released footage of the hotel.
“In or about March 2016 … at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City, Mr. Combs was extremely intoxicated and struck Ms. Ventura in the face, causing her a black eye,” the lawsuit states.
“After falling asleep, Ms. Ventura attempted to leave the hotel room, however, as she was leaving the room, Mr. Combs woke up and began yelling at Ms. Ventura,” the documents state. “He followed her into the hallway and yelled at her. He grabbed her, then picked up glass vases in the hallway and threw them at her, causing glass to shatter around her as she ran to the elevator to escape.”
The lawsuit also states that Combs paid the hotel $50,000 for surveillance footage of the incident.
A day after filing the lawsuit, Ventura announced that she and her ex-boyfriend had reached a settlement in the case.
On Friday, former CIA and FBI special agent Tracy Walder told People that the lawsuit was only settled “so quickly” because of the surveillance video.
“Diddy never expected the video to come out,” she said.
Several women, as well as male producer Rodney Jones, have since claimed that they too were victims of sexual harassment, sexual abuse and drug abuse by Combs.
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