Cassie Ventura’s mother testified Tuesday about the alleged abuse her daughter endured from Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Regina Ventura took the stand at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in New York and told the court that, among other things, the “Bad Boy for Life” singer attempted to blackmail their family.
Cassie’s mom’s testimony may prove to be a crucial component to the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s case against the disgraced music mogul, according to legal experts.
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“Generally speaking, relatives can be perceived as extremely biased witnesses. However, credibility is largely dependent on the demeanor of the individual,” Los Angeles litigator John J. Perlstein exclusively told Fox News Digital.
“It is irrelevant to the case whether Ventura’s mother spoke to Diddy or not, and would unlikely favor either side. What will be relevant is her testimony regarding the $20,000 payment exchange for keeping sex tapes from being released, which in my opinion, can be very damaging to the defendant as it shows what little value a man of great means placed upon this poor woman.”
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The jury was shown Tuesday an email Cassie sent to her mom on Dec. 23, 2011. In the digital correspondence, Cassie said that Diddy would release two sex tapes. Cassie’s email also claimed that Diddy would have someone hurt her and rapper Kid Cudi, whom she was dating at the time.
Cassie and Cudi, whose full name is Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, dated in 2011 when she was on a break in her relationship with Diddy.
“The threats that have been made towards me by Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs are that are that (sic) he is going to release 2 explicit sex tapes of me,” Cassie allegedly wrote in the email. “One on Christmas Day, maybe before or right after and another one some time soon after that. He has also said that he will be having someone hurt me and Scott Mescudi physically (he made a point that it wouldn’t be by his hands, he actually said he’d be out of the country when it happened).”
Regina testified that she “was physically sick” and did not understand a lot of it. She claimed the sex tapes threw her, but she understood that Diddy was allegedly going to hurt Cassie. She testified that Diddy demanded $20,000 to recoup the money he spent on Cassie.
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At the time, Diddy was allegedly angry that Cassie was with another person. It was expected the money would come from Regina and her husband.
Regina claimed they took a home equity loan to pay the “Last Night” rapper. When Regina received wiring instructions, she claimed she wired the money from her checking account to the Bad Boy account. About four to five days later, the money allegedly came back. Regina said she did not have any conversations with Diddy about the money, and also does not have a copy of the wiring instructions.
WATCH: SEAN ‘DIDDY’ COMBS ASSAULTS CASSIE VENTURA IN 2016 LOS ANGELES HOTEL INCIDENT
“I was scared for my daughter’s safety,” Regina told Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson.
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“Ventura’s mother’s testimony is further corroboration of the allegations that have been made by her daughter and further supports the repetitive pattern of intimidation that the prosecution is trying to prove,” Perlstein told Fox News Digital.
“It is likely that the defense may have found the witness to be damning and thus, declined cross-examination, but it is unusual as it is common practice to ask any witness on the stand at least a question even an irrelevant softball question.”
He added, “Avoiding cross-examination creates the perception that the witness is to be believed in every respect in the eyes of the jury.”
Diddy’s attorney, Marc Agnifilo, didn’t ask to cross-examine Regina, which is a common courtroom strategy when it comes to a victim’s mother, according to former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani.
“You don’t want to turn off the jurors,” Rahmani told Fox News Digital.
Cassie testified about allegedly being raped by Diddy after their break-up and claimed to enter rehab at the beginning of 2023 after suffering “horrible flashbacks” of the abuse.
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The singer, who is pregnant with her third child with husband Alex Fine, also claimed that Diddy’s “freak offs” became a job. “Freak offs” were “elaborately produced sex performances that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded,” according to the indictment.
The “freak offs” would last between 24 and 72 hours. Ventura recalled the longest “freak off” was four days. When she wasn’t participating, she was recovering from “the drugs, dehydration, staying awake,” she said.
On Wednesday, Cassie also disclosed she received a $20 million settlement 24 hours after filing a lawsuit against Diddy in November 2023.
Diddy was charged with racketeering conspiracy; sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and transportation to engage in prostitution in a federal indictment unsealed Sept. 17. He has maintained his innocence. If found guilty, he faces a minimum of 15 years behind bars or a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Fox News’ Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
