The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office has revealed why it won’t be prosecuting Sean “Diddy” Combs after horrific footage showed him brutally attacking his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura at a hotel.
The office said in an Instagram post that because the alleged attack happened on March 5, 2016, the window to prosecute has lapsed. California’s statute of limitations for simple assault is one year, while aggravated assault is three years.
“We are aware of the video that has been circulating online allegedly depicting Sean Combs assaulting a young woman in Los Angeles. We find the images extremely disturbing and difficult to watch. If the conduct depicted occurred in 2016, unfortunately we would be unable to charge as the conduct would have occurred beyond the timeline where a crime of assault can be prosecuted,” the office said. “As of today, law enforcement has not presented a case related to the attack depicted in the video against Mr. Combs, but we encourage anyone who has been a victim or witness to a crime to report it to law enforcement or reach out to our office for support from our Bureau of Victims Services.”
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The statement came after a video obtained by CNN showed Diddy wrapped only in a towel chasing Cassie down a hall and then grabbing her by the hair and slamming her to the ground. The rapper then kicks her as she lays motionless on the ground.
Cassie sued Diddy last year alleging that he raped her but they settled out of court in November for an undisclosed sum of money. The pair dated from 2007 until 2018.
Alex Fine, who married Cassie in 2019, posted a letter on Instagram on Friday afternoon after the video was made public putting abusers on blast.
“Men who hit women aren’t men,” he wrote. “Men who enable it and protect those people aren’t men. As men violence against women shouldn’t be inevitable, check your brothers, your friends and your family.”
Aubrey O’Day also spoke out against Diddy, who helped form her band Danity Kane on the TV show Making the Band in the late 2000s. The singer said she “prays” for “all his victims.”
“The picture is getting a lot more clear for you all I can imagine,” she wrote, alongside a clip of the footage.
