Diddy Trial Update: Cathy sobbing to the stand as her testimony concludes
After the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs in the first week of testimony, time in Cassie’s stand ends following the tragic testimony about Combs’ alleged abuse.
Casandra “Cassie” Ventura Fine testified against his former boyfriend Sean “Diddy Combs) in his groundbreaking federal sex crimes trial, opposes the potential release of the music mogul from prison ahead of his sentence hearing.
In a letter to District Court Judge Arun Subramanian, filed Tuesday, September 30, Ventura Fine opened up about the psychological sacrifice of her decades-old relationship with the dishonest rapper and shared concerns about Combs’ custody situation.
According to court documents obtained by USA Today, Ventura Fine said, “I still have nightmares and flashbacks on a daily basis,” Ventura Fine wrote. “It’s my concern that Sean Combs and his peers are following me and that my family is my reality.”
Ventura Fine revealed that she has maintained a low profile since Combs’ trial, which ended in July and saw the Grammy-winning rapper being convicted of two modes of transportation to engage in prostitution, but received a split verdict in which she was found guilty of more serious charges of assault and sex trafficking. The former R&B star added that she and her family also moved out of the New York area as a safety precaution.
“I’m very scared, so if he walks freely, his first action would be quick retaliation against me and others who spoke about his abuse at trial,” Ventura Fein continued. “As much as I did by recovering from his abuse, I am extremely afraid of what he can do and the malice he is definitely heading towards me because he has the courage to tell the truth.”
Ventura Fine, who met Combs at the age of 19 as an aspiring singer, testified at Combs’ months of federal trials, stripping off the curtains on years of physical and sexual abuse allegations. Her bomb testimony comes nearly two years after Ventura Fine filed a civil lawsuit against Combs in November 2023. The pair settled in a 24-hour, $20 million settlement.
Combs, which is expected to be sentenced to prison on Friday, October 3, is currently in custody at a metropolitan detention center in Brooklyn after repeated attempts to release bail.
Ventura Fine’s statement to Combs has written letters of support to Subra Manians demanding “generosity” in the hip-hop mogul ruling.
Cathy tells her thoughts of suicide, a healing journey after Diddy’s abuse
In a September 30 letter to Judge Subramanian, Ventura Fine rehashed repeated abuses allegedly suffered in the hands of a comb, including having numerous sexual acts with male sex workers, and carrying out physical and substance abuse disastrously.
“The trial lawyers suggested that my time with Combs resembles a “great modern love story,” but I cannot leave it far from the truth,” Ventura Fein wrote. “There’s no great, modern or affection for this story. It’s been a terrible decade of my life, stained with abuse, violence, coercion and degradation.”
The “Me&U” diva added that the mental health effects of Combs’ abuse drove her to the idea of suicide, and that “my family intervention and I want professional care” allowed her to navigate the pain. Ventura Fine is married to personal trainer Alex Fine. The couple shares three children.
“I went to rehabilitation and participated in dozens of different therapies to confront, distinguish and deal with the horrifying memories of sexual and emotional abuse I had endured for nearly a decade,” concluded Ventura Fein. “While what he did to me is always present, I am slowly learning how to live my life freely from the fear and fear I endured, and in doing so I am completely devoted to my husband and my children.”
Cathy claims Diddy is not a “unusual man” after the trial
Ventura Fine has hopes for her future, but she cannot say the same thing about her ex, comb.
“His defense attorney claims he is a strange man and he wants to mentor his abusers. I know first hand what real mentorship means. This hates me. He’s not true.”
“I know who he is to me, the manipulator, the attacker, the abuser, the trafficker – that he is a human,” she continued. “He’s not interested in changing or getting better. He’ll always be the same cruel, power-hungry, manipulative guy he’s always there.”
Ventura Fine also criticized Combs for admitting physical abuse in 2016 by admitting his physical abuse after leaking surveillance footage showing him attacking Ventura at a Los Angeles area hotel.
“When I filed my allegations in my civil case, he denied them over and over again,” Ventura Fein said. “It was only after the actual video footage was released on the internet for the exact words of my civil complaints, and thanks to the footage and my testimony, this is something he is forever related.”
Cathy asks the judge to consider Diddy’s “abuse and control” history ahead of the verdict
The pursuit of justice was a sacrificed to the Ventura fine.
“For nine months in May, during my four days in pregnancy with my son, I testified before a packed courtroom about the most traumatic and horrifying chapters of my life,” Ventura Fine wrote in a September 30 letter. “From the age of 19, I have testified that Sean Combs has locked me up after over a decade of abuse, using violence, threats, substances and control over my career.”
She added: “I re-exposed in detail the events and truths explained throughout the trial, and this letter causes me to experience incredible emotional pain.
Ventura Fine’s testimony during Combs’ trials was often very emotional, with the singers breaking in tears and she recalled saying she was suffering from a relationship with the founder of the bad boy’s record. Just as Subramanians contemplating Combs’s decision, Ventura Fine asked a New York judge to consider “the many lives Sean Combs overturned with his abuse and control.”
“For over a decade, Sean Combs made me feel helpless and unimportant, but my experience was authentic, frightening and worthy of consideration,” concluded Ventura Fein. “The ju judge did not seem to understand that I was engaged in the freak off due to the forces and coercion used by the defendant against me, but I think that is true and his sentence should reflect the evidence as a victim and the reality of my living experience.”
If you or someone you know may be struggling with the idea of suicide, you can call the US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 any day or night, or chat online.
If you or you have experienced sexual violence, Rainn’s National Sexual Assault Hotline provides free, secret, 24/7 support to survivors and their loved ones in English and Spanish: 800.656.hope (4673) and hotline.rainn.org and enespañolainn.org/es.
Contribution: USA Today staff report
