Sean "Diddy" Combs isn't going home any time soon. He's been denied bail in his trafficking and assault case. So what has it been like for him in jail as he awaits trial?
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00:00Sean Diddy Combs isn't going home anytime soon. He's been denied bail in his trafficking and
00:05assault case. So what has it been like for him in jail as he awaits trial?
00:10It's been a long legal road for the hip-hop mogul over the past year or so.
00:14Starting in November 2023, nearly a dozen people, including ex-Cassie Ventura and producer Rodney
00:21Lil Rod Jones, filed lawsuits against Combs of sex trafficking and sexual assault. Some of the
00:27suits were settled, but others are still making their way through the courts. Then in March 2024,
00:33Department of Homeland Security agents raided mansions in Los Angeles and Miami
00:37belonging to Combs. On September 16th, the media mogul was arrested in New York City
00:43on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking.
00:46The indictment alleges that between at least 2008 and the present, Combs abused,
00:51threatened, and coerced victims.
00:54He's currently locked up at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, a federal facility
00:59that holds both men and women at all security levels. That's where he'll stay for quite some
01:04time. Two different judges have denied him bail. According to ABC News, Judge Andrew Carter said
01:09there was too much risk of Combs tampering with witnesses to let him go free.
01:14Prosecutors said that Combs is a danger,
01:17clear evidence of dangerousness, a long pattern of abuse."
01:20That jail is not somewhere you want to be. Aside from contaminated food and electrical issues,
01:26it has also reportedly been the scene of murders and suicides. According to NY1,
01:31MDC went into lockdown after detainee Uriel White was murdered in June.
01:36An inmate named Eli explained on June 24th,
01:39"'We come out of our cell every three days for a 15-minute shower.
01:43You're literally in solitary confinement when you shouldn't be.'"
01:46Eli went on to explain what exactly happened to White and how often similar incidents occur,
01:51telling NY1,
01:52"'One guy was stabbed in the eye with a makeshift knife. This is my first time in jail,
01:56but these knives are six, nine inches long sometimes, you know,
02:00homemade with materials from the steel walls. It's very violent. They're stabbings.
02:05They're stabbings at least a couple times a week.'"
02:08As a celebrity and someone accused of sexual assault, Combs is sure to have a target on
02:12his back. If he's lucky, he may be kept away from the other inmates as a safety measure.
02:17The former warden at MDC, Cameron Lindsay, said he does think Combs will be kept away
02:22from possible violence. That said, his lodgings are a far cry from the luxury that he's used to.
02:27All he'll get is a small cell with a sink and toilet.
02:31In 2019, Lindsay told The New York Times that the MDC is one of the most troubled,
02:35if not the most troubled facility in the Bureau of Prisons.
02:39The MDC has a difficult time recruiting and retaining staff."
02:44Criminal defense attorney Mark Bedero told Business Insider that Combs shouldn't expect
02:49his fame and wealth to assure him any perks at the MDC facility, saying,
02:53"'All that money won't make it warmer when it's cold, colder when it's hot.
02:57It won't make the food more edible. It won't make the cockroaches stay away.'"
03:01Speaking of the food, Combs definitely shouldn't expect caviar and filet mignon.
03:06TMZ notes that the menu for federal prisons includes cereal and chicken patty sandwiches.
03:11Vegetarians are provided with tofu options.
03:14If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault,
03:17help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website
03:22or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE 4673.