As the lookback window under New York’s Gender-Motivated Violence Act (GMVA) approaches its March 1 closure, four additional lawsuits have been filed against Sean “Diddy” Combs, bringing new allegations of sexual assault.
Each of the lawsuits, filed in New York, follows a similar pattern, with accusers alleging they were drugged and subjected to non-consensual sexual acts.
The GMVA amendment, enacted in 2022, temporarily lifted the statute of limitations, allowing survivors whose claims were previously time-barred to seek legal action between March 1, 2023, and March 1, 2025. With the deadline fast approaching, more lawsuits are expected before the window closes.
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The first lawsuit comes from Aristalia Benitez, who alleges she was assaulted in 1995 when she was a 20-year-old student at New York University. While working for Pepe Jeans, a sister brand of Tommy Hilfiger, she was invited by Andy Hilfiger to a party at a restaurant where Combs was present.
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Benitez claims she was seated next to Combs and given a non-alcoholic drink before being “forcibly groped and fondled” under her clothes. She says she later lost consciousness and awoke hours later in the back of a cab with no memory of how she got there. The lawsuit alleges that Combs and his associates sexually assaulted her while she was unconscious.
Another plaintiff, Justin Gooch, alleges that in 1999, at the age of 16, he met Combs at the New York City nightclub Tunnel. Combs reportedly invited him into a club bathroom stall, where he allegedly gave him ketamine before sexually assaulting him. After the incident, Gooch claims Combs casually remarked, “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
The third lawsuit was filed by Leslie Cockrell, who claims she was assaulted in 1999 at one of Combs’ parties in the Hamptons. Cockrell, then 24, worked in the music industry and saw the event as a networking opportunity. She alleges that Combs offered her a drink and, while giving her a tour of his house, touched her inappropriately.
She describes the house as “packed inside and outside with naked people engaging in sexual activities.” After consuming a second drink, she began to feel lightheaded and was led to a room where she lay down. Drifting in and out of consciousness, she claims she awoke to Combs sexually assaulting her. When she fully regained consciousness, she felt sore and was warned not to speak about the incident.
The fourth lawsuit, filed by Kendra Haffoney, names both Combs and VH1 as defendants. Haffoney, who worked in a designer showroom in Los Angeles in 2007, alleges she was drugged and assaulted while participating in VH1’s reality show I Want to Work for Diddy.
She claims she was invited to an afterparty in New York, where she was led to a backroom with Combs and others. After taking a drink she believes was laced, she alleges that Combs forced her to perform oral sex before she lost consciousness. She later woke up to find Combs sitting at the foot of the bed, feeling sore and disoriented. Haffoney further claims she was later invited to Combs’ Los Angeles mansion, where she was subjected to additional abuse.
Responding to the new lawsuits, a representative for Combs told to Variety:
“No matter how many lawsuits are filed—especially by individuals who refuse to put their own names behind their claims—it won’t change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone—man or woman, adult or minor. This lawsuit is nothing more than a collection of media headlines, stitched together with fragments from other lawsuits and baseless rumors. With the deadline for New York’s Gender-Motivated Violence Act expiring tomorrow, opportunists are scrambling to file last-minute, meritless claims. We live in a world where anyone can file a lawsuit for any reason, but that does not make the claims true. Mr. Combs is confident he will prevail in court.”
These latest lawsuits follow a separate claim filed by a male escort, who accused Combs of sexual assault in 2012. Sean “Diddy” Combs is currently detained at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, where he awaits his criminal trial set for May 5.
READ ALSO: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs hit with another lawsuit over hiring an underage girl for a sex party
