Expected witnesses in the Sean Combs trial include former partners, a male sex worker and a friend of Cassie Ventura: Sources

(Exclusive) Some of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ former sexual partners, a business associate and a male sex worker are among the witnesses expected to testify at his criminal trial, multiple sources tell CNN. At least four witnesses who are expected to testify against Combs at his federal criminal trial starting next week are accusers who have already filed civil suits against the embattled music mogul. The witness list has not been made public, but three individuals familiar with the case spoke to CNN under the condition of anonymity. The central witness in the trial is Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura — the singer and an ex-girlfriend of Combs — who has chosen to testify under her real name. The judge has allowed the other alleged victims, whom CNN has identified through sources, to testify under pseudonyms in an effort to protect their identity. (In court papers, the government’s key witnesses are referred to as “Victim-2,” “Victim-3” and “Victim-4.”) CNN has reached out to a spokesperson at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, as well as Combs’ representatives, for comment. Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy, transportation to engage in prostitution and sex trafficking. He has denied all civil allegations against him. “These are not new allegations or new accusers,” Combs’ attorneys told CNN last month. “These are the same individuals, former long-term girlfriends, who were involved in consensual relationships. This was their private sex life, defined by consent, not coercion.” Prosecutors have accused Combs of running a “criminal enterprise” where he and others coerced women into sexual situations – known as “Freak Offs” – with male prostitutes in which they were often drugged and forced to engage in sex acts for days. Authorities allege Combs recorded some of the sex acts and controlled his victims by promising financial and career opportunities, as well as through threats of violence and other harm. A number of supporting witnesses will also testify as government witnesses to corroborate the accounts of the key witnesses or to provide other relevant information at trial, sources say. Among those supporting witnesses expected to testify is a male sex worker who is seen in explicit videos of Combs’ so-called “Freak Offs,” according to one source, who says additional sex workers may testify in the trial. A friend of Ventura’s will also take the stand, according to another source, who says this individual will corroborate Ventura’s allegations and testify about some of her own claims of violence by Combs, referenced in the indictment. Combs is facing over 60 civil lawsuits. The criminal case will be limited While Combs is facing more than 60 civil lawsuits, his criminal trial will be limited in scope, with the jury instructed to deliberate on only what’s presented in court. At a hearing last month, the judge gave Combs a significant legal victory, ruling that most evidence about prior sexual assault allegations against him not included in the indictment would not be allowed at trial. Though Combs’ criminal trial is separate from the mountain of civil suits he is facing, many of the lawsuits have served as a roadmap of sorts for prosecutors, according to sources familiar with the federal investigation that led to Combs being indicted. CNN previously reported that federal investigators had brought in several civil accusers for questioning during their vast probe over the past year-and-a-half, which resulted in federal searches of Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami in March 2024 and Combs’ arrest in Manhattan in September 2024. One source explained to CNN that some civil accusers who aren’t being called to testify in the criminal trial have been integral to the government’s investigation behind the scenes. Ventura filed her lawsuit against Combs in November 2023 in which she accused Combs of a decade of repeated physical and emotional abuse during their relationship. She alleged that shortly after she was signed to Combs’ Bad Boy Records label, she was “lured” into an “ostentatious, fast-paced, and drug-fueled lifestyle, and into a romantic relationship with him” where Combs was physically violent, controlled all aspects of her life and forced her to engage in sex acts with other men. In the criminal indictment against Combs, the government mirrored many of the claims from Ventura’s civil suit, including an incident where she claimed Combs physically assaulted her in 2016 in a Los Angeles hotel. In May 2024, CNN first broadcast hotel surveillance footage of that incident, which matched Ventura’s civil claims. Last week, the judge said he would allow footage of Ventura being beaten by Combs to be included as evidence in the trial. Prosecutors have said that a witness who recorded a version of the hotel surveillance video will be called to testify at the trial.