Sean Combs trial updates | Defense closes; deliberations set for Monday

Federal prosecutors, delivering closing statements in the racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking trial of Sean Combs, said testimony from four witnesses satisfies the racketeering predicate of forced labor: former girlfriends Cassie Ventura and "Jane," and former Combs assistants "Mia" and Capricorn Clark.

Ventura and "Jane," the latter of whom testified under a pseudonym, provided labor and services when they endured hours of grueling sex as part of so-called "freak-off" sexual encounters, Christy Slavik told the jury.

"Combs did not let Cassie or 'Jane' sleep. Instead, he gave them drugs to stay awake," Slavik argued. "After each 'freak-off,' Cassie and 'Jane' were so exhausted they took days to recover."

Slavik reminded the jury that both women had testified that Combs told them to "keep going" and to "finish strong" even when they were tired; how their bodies were sore from hours in uncomfortable positions; how they frequently contracted urinary tract infections.

"Cassie said she had so many UTIs that antibiotics stopped working to cure them," Slavik said. "'Jane' texted, 'I'm the one putting all the physical and mental work in for 48 hours straight.'"

Slavik then turned to the woman who testified under the pseudonym "Mia," who she said was so traumatized by her alleged experiences with Combs that "she could not look up" on the witness stand.

"It should be clear to you that the defendant treated 'Mia' differently from the other personal assistants. He demanded more and he abused her," Slavik alleged. "The labor the defendant got from 'Mia' was not standard personal assistant stuff."

Slavik also reminded jurors that 'Mia' testified that Combs sexually assaulted her, allegedly including penetration and forced oral sex.

Capricorn Clark testified that Combs ripped up a paper she submitted to him for $80,000 in overtime, Slavik told the jury. Clark also testified that Combs and his bodyguard, Uncle Paulie, allegedly walked with her in New York's Central Park on her first day working for him to threaten her because she had previously worked for rival record producer Marion "Suge" Knight, Slavik further told the jury.

Though Clark conceded during her testimony that she kept returning to Combs despite his alleged treatment of her, Slavik said it was because Clark needed a job and Combs allegedly used his influence in the industry to make sure Clark wouldn't get one unless she worked for him.

The government summation in the Sean Combs racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking trial has moved on to the counts of transportation for the purposes of prostitution.

"You heard about many instances when the defendant flew in escorts from across the country so he could watch them have sex," Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik told the court.

Concerning one alleged example, from August 2009, Slavik showed jurors text messages from Combs coordinating travel with a male escort named Jules. Slavik then showed Combs' American Express statement that, the prosecution claims, indicates that Combs paid for Jules' flight, his car from the airport, and the $2,000 bill from The London hotel in New York City.

"The only reason to fly Jules Theodore into New York City was to participate in a 'freak-off,'" Slavik said, referring to the name for a sexual encounter.

Slavik included multiple other examples to support the prosecution's contention before taking a break. She told the court that she has another hour to go in her presentation, setting up a five-hour closing argument from the government.

Sean Combs "created a climate of fear" that left Cassie Ventura believing that "failure to perform 'freak-offs,' or do whatever else the defendant demanded, would result in serious harm," prosecutor Christy Slavik said during closing statements at his racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking trial.

Slavik took aim at a defense argument that Combs' former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, made a daily decision to stay in the relationship with Combs for 11 years. She asked jurors to imagine that they were with someone who kicked them, dragged them by the hair at seemingly random times for saying the wrong things, or for failing to promptly answer the phone -- someone bigger, stronger and twice their age.

"Imagine the terror of never knowing when the next hit might come or how to fight that person off. Now imagine saying no," Slavik said of Ventura. "She knew that when he was happy, she was safe."

Slavik told the jury that Ventura lacked the freedom to make a voluntary, adult choice.

"If the defendant wanted a 'freak-off,' it was going to happen," Slavik said referring to sexual encounters. "You know why by now. He didn't take no for an answer."

For Cassie Ventura, violence at the hands of Sean Combs "became her normal," federal prosecutor Christy Slavik asserted during the government's closing argument.

Ventura experienced it and "saw and heard about the defendant attacking her friends," Slavik said, naming Combs' former assistant "Mia"; longtime Ventura friend Bryana Bongolan; celebrity stylist Deonte Nash; and former Ventura Kerry Morgan.

"The defense asked why, if the violence was so bad, she didn't leave. But you know why," Slavik told the jury, telling them that fear overrides an inclination to flee.

"There was no safe space for Cassie," Slavik said.

So-called "freak-off" sexual encounters were also part of Ventura's norm, according to Slavik, noting that Ventura had previously testified that they became like a job.

"'Freak-offs' did not occur in isolation. The defendant wanted them all the time," Slavik said. While Ventura testified that she agreed to participate in the first one, Slavik told the jury it should be "no surprise" that Ventura came to despise them, reminding the jury they meant hours covered in baby oil, wearing uncomfortable outfits, and sometimes occurred when she had her menstrual period. Allegedly, Combs or an escort also would urinate on her, Slavik said.

Slavik said the "freak-offs" were a "turn on for him," meaning Combs, but humiliating for Ventura.

"We're not asking you to find that every 'freak-off' was an instance of sex trafficking but there were many she participated in because of his force, threats of force and coercion," Slavik said. "That conduct is illegal. That conduct is sex trafficking."

Slavik also asked jurors not to be "fooled" into thinking that what they saw on explicit video footage was "anything more than a performance," with Ventura pretending to like the directions Combs was giving. Combs' defense has maintained that all sexual encounters were consensual.

Slavik walked the jury through one more play of the 2016 hotel security surveillance video footage in which Combs is depicted wearing only a towel and, Slavik said, "looks ridiculous."

She said Combs was not, as the defense asserted, "out of his mind high on drugs" when he attacked Ventura. Rather, Slavik told the jury, the video shows Combs "in complete control of himself" while dealing with a security guard after the attack and trying to limit the damage to his reputation.

The footage depicted Combs dragging Ventura after attacking her to "finish the 'freak-off,'" Slavik said. "This incident should leave no doubt in your mind that the defendant committed trafficking."