Multiple New Sexual-Assault Lawsuits Filed Against Diddy

Two new plaintiffs, Lakeisha Ward and Dejoan Bledsoe, filed sexual-assault lawsuits represented by Tony Buzbee alleging Ward was incapacitated and penetrated at a 2018 Los Angeles pool party and Bledsoe was assaulted at 18 in 2009 after being allegedly drugged and promised a music opportunity. The filings arrived a day before Combs’s scheduled Oct. 3 sentencing on federal convictions for transporting men across state lines for prostitution, and he is seeking leniency at sentencing. Separately, former longtime stylist Deonte’ Nash sued Combs alleging a decade of sexual, physical and psychological abuse, human trafficking and threats to his life; Nash told CBS Mornings he kept a “go-bag” because he feared Diddy would kill them. Nash’s suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages and a jury trial and follows his earlier trial testimony. Diddy’s lawyers have strongly denied the new accusations as false, and the cascade of civil suits has further complicated the music mogul’s legal and public standing ahead of sentencing.