By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs dangled a friend of his former girlfriend Casandra Ventura off the balcony of a high-rise apartment in September 2016, the friend testified on Wednesday at Combs’ sex trafficking trial.
“I was held over a 17-story balcony,” Bryana Bongolan, Ventura’s friend, told jurors in Manhattan federal court.
Bongolan, 33, said Combs later threw her onto the balcony furniture. She said she suffered bruises as a result of the incident and had night terrors and paranoia.
The judge called a lunch break in the trial before prosecutors could ask Bongolan for additional details about the incident. Her testimony was expected to resume shortly after 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT).
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to five counts including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan say Combs over two decades coerced women, including Ventura, to take part in drug-fueled sexual performances with male sex workers known as “Freak Offs.”
The trial is in its fourth week.
Ventura, a rhythm and blues singer known as Cassie, told jurors last month she took part in Combs’ Freak Offs for about a decade, at first to please him and later because he blackmailed her with videos of the encounters. She said Combs frequently beat her.
Prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office say Combs and his associates used force and the threat of force to coerce women to take part in the Freak Offs and to make sure witnesses to his abuse remained quiet.
Combs’ lawyers have acknowledged he was at times abusive in domestic relationships, but argue that women who took part in Freak Offs did so consensually.
Combs could face life in prison if convicted on all counts. Prosecutors have said they may finish presenting their case next week, allowing the defense to put on its case.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Howard Goller)
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