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Diddy’s son accused of sexual assault after raids on father’s homes

Christian Combs is accused of sexual assault, sexual harassment and infliction of emotional distress

Kelly Rissman
Friday 05 April 2024 22:11 BST
New video shows moment FBI breach Diddy's home and handcuff sons

The son of rapper and music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs – who is already facing a string of civil lawsuits – is now facing accusations of sexual assault of his own.

Diddy, 54, has been accused of sexual assault, sex trafficking, and rape, among other inflammatory claims in recent weeks; he has denied any wrongdoing, labelling the allegations against him “sickening”.

On Thursday 4 April, Diddy was also named as a defendant in a case against his 26-year-old son, Christian Combs, who was accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a young woman on a yacht. Diddy, who allegedly chartered the yacht, is being sued for premises liability and for aiding and abetting his son.

Grace O’Marcaigh, who was 25 at the time of the alleged assault, claimed that Christian Combs sexually assaulted her in late December 2022 while she was working on a boat charter that had been portrayed “as a wholesome family excursion” but devolved into a “hedonistic environment,” according to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court and obtained by NBC News.

Christian Combs is accused of sexual assault, sexual harassment and the infliction of emotional distress, the outlet reported.

The filing says that Ms O’Marcaigh served dinner and drinks on the yacht from 6pm to 6am – and saw rampant partying and drug use between a “constant rotation of suspected sex workers” and celebrities.

She also noted that women had such a strong reaction after just one drink – falling over themselves or passing out – that she believed the alcohol had been spiked with drugs.

Christian Combs arrived “heavily intoxicated,” the filing states. At some point, the rapper’s son urged Ms O’Marcaigh to take shots of tequila that she thought he had brought onboard the yacht, the filing says.

She took the shot – but that’s when Christian Combs became aggressive and pressed her to drink more, the suit states. Ms O’Marcaigh then began to feel the effects of the tequila, which she “quickly suspected” had been laced.

Christian Combs then allegedly groped Ms O’Marcaigh’s legs, breast, anus and vagina, the suit states: “His penis was erect, and he grabbed her arms and was trying to force [Ms O’Marcaigh] to perform oral sex on him.”

The filing includes photos of bruises on Ms O’Marcaigh’s body allegedly caused during the incident, as well as audio recordings.

The encounter happened in the yacht studio, where producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones was recording. In his own suit against Diddy, Mr Jones said he has video and audio evidence of Diddy, his staff and others “engaging in serious illegal activity”.

King Combs and Diddy at the iHeart Radio Music Awards in 2018 (Rex Features)

Mr Jones recorded the situation, the suit states, allowing her to include transcripts of bits of audio that show her rejecting both alcohol and his advances.

Ms O’Marcaigh told the yacht captain about the incident, the filing states, but he did not believe her and did not probe the matter.

The filing states that Ms O’Marcaigh’s emotional and physical well-being has been impacted since the assault, citing that she has since developed an eating disorder and epileptic seizures. She is seeking unspecified damages.

“I am here to fight for those who can’t fight for themselves, and I applaud Grace for being so brave to come forward with her truth,” attorney Rodney Diggs said about Ms O’Marcaigh to NBC News. “Hopefully her story will inspire others to come forward.”

In a statement to The Independent, Aaron Dyer, an attorney for Christian Combs and Diddy said, “This is just another lewd and meritless claim from Tyrone Blackburn [Ms O’Marcaigh’s attorney]— just like what he filed in the Rodney Jones lawsuit, which he still has not served.”

“This complaint is filled with the same kind of manufactured lies and irrelevant facts we’ve come to expect from Blackburn,” he continued. “This is exactly why the federal judge in New York slapped him two days ago for a ‘pattern of behavior’ in ‘improperly [filing] cases in federal court to garner media attention, embarrass defendants with salacious allegations, and pressure defendants to settle quickly,’ and why he was referred to the disciplinary committee in the Southern District of New York [SDNY]. We will be filing a motion to dismiss this outrageous claim.”

Mr Dyer was referring to an outraged judge, who, in a separate lawsuit involving Mr Blackburn, referred the lawyer to the grievance committee after finding “glaring deficiencies” in several of Mr Blackburn’s cases, Billboard reported.

Mr Blackburn told the outlet in response: “Not sure how this is at all relevant to Rodney Jones’ case, or any other case I have. This will not have any impact on my ability to proceed in Mr. Jones’ case. Although Judge Cote’s decision was a referral to the SDNY’s grievance committee, and not a sanction, I plan on appealing the decision.”

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