NEW YORK: Music mogul Sean Combs is set to go on trial for racketeering and sex trafficking on May 5, 2025, a judge said in a court hearing Thursday.
The rapper known as “Diddy” will remain incarcerated, said federal judge Arun Subramanian, after he was indicted last month on three criminal counts that allege he sexually abused women and coerced them into drug-fueled sex parties using threats and violence.
Combs has twice been denied bail, as prosecutors have voiced concerns of witness tampering. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
As he entered the courtroom, Combs, wearing a light-colored wrinkled shirt and pants, greeted his mother and children who were attending the hearing.
Prosecutor Emily Johnson said there was still more evidence to explore, noting that 96 electronic devices had been seized in March and that more charges were possible.
Allegations have been building against the Grammy winner since last year, when singer Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, alleged Combs subjected her to more than a decade of coercion by physical force and drugs as well as a 2018 rape.
A spate of similarly lurid civil lawsuits since have painted a picture of Combs as a violent man who used his celebrity status to prey on women.
And in a bombastic announcement, lawyers said more than 100 people who say Combs assaulted or exploited them — some of them children — were planning more legal action.
The explosion of allegations against him has highlighted a culture in the music industry that many people contend allows for a wider pattern of rampant sexual misconduct.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sex trafficking trial set for May 2025
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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sex trafficking trial set for May 2025
Cambodia takes back looted historic artifacts handled by British art dealer
- The objects were returned under a 2020 agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the family of the late Douglas Latchford, a British art collector and dealer who allegedly had the items smuggled out of Cambodia
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodian officials on Friday received more than six dozen historic artifacts described as part of the country’s cultural heritage that had been looted during decades of war and instability.
At a ceremony attended by Deputy Prime Minister Hun Many, the 74 items were unveiled at the National Museum in Phnom Penh after their repatriation from the United Kingdom.
The objects were returned under a 2020 agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the family of the late Douglas Latchford, a British art collector and dealer who allegedly had the items smuggled out of Cambodia.
“This substantial restitution represents one of the most important returns of Khmer cultural heritage in recent years, following major repatriations in 2021 and 2023 from the same collection,” the Culture Ministry said in a statement. “It marks a significant step forward in Cambodia’s continued efforts to recover, preserve, and restore its ancestral legacy for future generations.”
The artifacts were described as dating from the pre-Angkorian period through the height of the Angkor Empire, including “monumental sandstone sculptures, refined bronze works, and significant ritual objects.” The Angkor Empire, which extended from the ninth to the 15th century, is best known for the Angkor Wat archaeological site, the nation’s biggest tourist attraction.
Latchford was a prominent antiquities dealer who allegedly orchestrated an operation to sell looted Cambodian sculptures on the international market.
From 1970 to the 1980s, during Cambodia’s civil wars and the communist Khmer Rouge ‘s brutal reign, organized looting networks sent artifacts to Latchford, who then sold them to Western collectors, dealers, and institutions. These pieces were often physically damaged, having been pried off temple walls or other structures by the looters.
Latchford was indicted in a New York federal court in 2019 on charges including wire fraud and conspiracy. He died in 2020, aged 88, before he could be extradited to face charges.
Cambodia, like neighboring Thailand, has benefited from a trend in recent decades involving the repatriation of art and archaeological treasures. These include ancient Asian artworks as well as pieces lost or stolen during turmoil in places such as Syria, Iraq and Nazi-occupied Europe. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the prominent institutions that has been returning illegally smuggled art, including to Cambodia.
“The ancient artifacts created and preserved by our ancestors are now being returned to Cambodia, bringing warmth and joy, following the country’s return to peace,” said Hun Many, who is the younger brother of Prime Minister Hun Manet.
