Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs to stay in jail after judge denies bail for a second time

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has been denied bail on Wednesday, as the musician faces several charges including sex trafficking, drug possession and firearms offences.

Although his lawyers had argued that he should be release from “horrific” jail conditions while awaiting trial, a New York federal judge ruled that the bail package the defence offered, amounting to $50 million, was "insufficient," agreeing with the government that there was "no condition that would assure" Combs would not "obstruct justice" if he were released.

Combs’ lawyers were making their second attempt to release him from the Metropolitan Detention Center, where he has been held since Tuesday, when he pleaded not guilty to charges that he physically and sexually abused women for years, running a criminal enterprise from at least 2008 that relied on drugs and violence.

Arguing not to release the musician, prosecutor Emily Johnson reminded the judge that Combs had a long history of intimidating both accusers and witnesses to his alleged abuse.

She cited text messages from women who said Combs forced them into "Freak Offs" and then threatened to leak explicit videos of them engaging in sexual acts.

In March, authorities raided Combs’ Los Angeles and Florida homes, finding firearms, ammunition and more than 1,000 bottles of lubricant, as well as three semi-automatic rifles with defaced serial numbers and a drum magazine.

Last November, singer Casandra Elizabeth Ventura, Combs’ ex-girlfriend, filed a lawsuit against him that included graphic descriptions of violent abuse – a case that the musician settled a day after it was filed, despite denying the accusations. The new indictment accuses him of similar violence.

In the 14-page indictment, Combs is charged with racketeering, sex trafficking by force and transportation to engage in prostitution.

If convicted on all three counts, the musician faces a sentence of 15 years up to life in prison.