NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� 鈥� former personal assistant testified Thursday that the hip-hop mogul sexually assaulted her, threw her into a swimming pool, dumped a bucket of ice on her and slammed a door against her arm during a torturous eight-year tenure.
The woman, testifying at Combs' under the pseudonym 鈥淢ia," said Combs put his hand up her dress and forcibly kissed her at his 40th birthday party in 2009, forced her to perform oral sex while she helped him pack for a trip and raped her in guest quarters at his Los Angeles home in 2010 after climbing into her bed.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 tell him 鈥榥o鈥� about anything,鈥� Mia said, telling jurors she felt 鈥渢errified and confused and ashamed and scared鈥� when Combs raped her. The assaults, she said, were unpredictable: 鈥渁lways random, sporadic, so oddly spaced out where I would think they would never happen again.鈥�
If she hadn鈥檛 been called to testify, Mia said, 鈥淚 was going to die with this. I didn鈥檛 want anyone to know ever.鈥�
Speaking slowly and haltingly, Mia portrayed Combs as a controlling taskmaster who put his desires above the wellbeing of staff and loved ones. She said Combs berated her for mistakes, even ones other employees made, and piled on so many tasks she didn't sleep for days.
鈥淚t was chaotic. It was toxic,鈥� said Mia, who worked for Combs from 2009 to 2017, including a stint as an executive at his film studio. 鈥淚t could be exciting. The highs were really high and the lows were really low.鈥�
Asked what determined how her days would unfold, Mia said: 鈥淧uff鈥檚 mood,鈥� using one of his many .
Mia said employees were always on edge because Combs鈥� mood could change "in a split second鈥� causing everything to go from 鈥渉appy to chaotic.鈥� She said Combs once threw a computer at her when he couldn't get a Wi-Fi connection.
Her testimony that of Combs鈥� other and his longtime girlfriend Cassie, who said he was demanding, mercurial and prone to violence. She is the second of three women testifying that Combs sexually abused them.
Cassie, an R&B singer whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, testified for four days during the trial鈥檚 , telling jurors Combs subjected her to hundreds of "freak-offs鈥� 鈥� drug-fueled marathons in which she said she engaged in sex acts with male sex workers , filmed and coached them.
A third woman, 鈥淛ane,鈥� is expected to testify about participating in freak-offs. Judge Arun Subramanian has permitted some of Combs鈥� sexual abuse accusers to testify under pseudonyms for their privacy and safety.
The Associated Press does not identify people who say they鈥檙e victims of sexual abuse unless they choose to make their names public, as Cassie has done.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering charges. His lawyers concede he could be violent, but he denies using threats or to commit abuse.
Mia testified that she saw Combs beat Cassie numerous times, detailing a brutal assault at Cassie鈥檚 Los Angeles home in 2013 that the singer and her longtime stylist Deonte Nash in their testimony. Mia said she was terrified Combs was going to kill them all, describing the melee as 鈥渁 little tornado.鈥�
The witness recalled jumping on Combs鈥� back in an attempt to stop him from hurting Nash and Cassie. Mia said Combs threw her into a wall and slammed Cassie鈥檚 head into a bed corner, causing a deep, bloody gash on the singer鈥檚 forehead. Other times, she said, Combs鈥� abuse caused Cassie black eyes and fat lips.
Mia said Combs sometimes had her working for up to five days at a time without rest as he hopped from city to city for club appearances and other engagements, and she started relying on her ADHD medication, the stimulant Adderall, as a sleep substitute.
Combs, with residences in Miami, Los Angeles and the New York area, let Mia and other employees stay in his guest houses 鈥� but she wasn鈥檛 allowed to leave without his permission and couldn't lock the doors, she testified.
鈥淭his is my house. No one locks my doors," Combs said, according to Mia.
Mia didn't appear to make eye contact with Combs, who sat back in his chair and looked forward, sometimes with his hands folded in front him, as she testified. Occasionally, he leaned over to speak with one of his lawyers or donned glasses to read exhibits. Mia kept her head down as she left the courtroom for breaks.
She testified that she remains friends with Cassie.
Michael R. Sisak And Larry Neumeister, The Associated Press
