Missing key witness cripples Diddy prosecution as trial hits roadblocks before it begins: expert

As opening statements in Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex-trafficking trial are set to kick off Monday, the defense and prosecution have seemingly run into a few roadblocks.

The prosecution has lost communication with Victim 3 and cannot locate her, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey. 

"The disappearance of a key victim at trial is crippling for the prosecution," attorney John J. Perlstein told Fox News Digital. "I doubt it impacts other counts; however, it will severely impact the one relating to the AWOL victim. A lot of times, people reconsider wanting to be involved in such a high-profile matter. Good prosecutors will adapt and, hopefully, their case is not dependent on the cooperation of one person."

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Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex-trafficking trial has seemingly hit roadblocks before it has officially begun. (Jane Rosenberg | Getty Images)

No-shows "add stress" to any trial and witnesses can become non-responsive for many reasons, according to Judie Saunders, partner of NYC-based ASK LLP.

"If this witness doesn’t show, that’s a problem," entertainment lawyer Tre Lovell explained to Fox News Digital. "One of the biggest questions in this prosecution is the small number of victim-witnesses in light of all the civil lawsuits and ‘victims’ out there.

"To have only three to four actual victims testifying against allegations of two decades-long criminality is telling. Although the government will have other witnesses to testify (i.e. staff workers, Diddy associates, people that were part of his entourage), the victims will be the most compelling and important people on the stand."

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In this courtroom sketch, Sean "Diddy" Combs attends the opening of jury selection on Monday. (Jane Rosenberg)

Diddy has been charged with racketeering conspiracy; sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and transportation to engage in prostitution in a federal indictment unsealed Sept. 17. He has maintained his innocence. If found guilty, he faces a minimum of 15 years behind bars or a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Authorities allege Diddy ran a criminal enterprise through his businesses, including Bad Boy Entertainment, Combs Enterprises and Combs Global, among others. He used "firearms, threats of violence, coercion and verbal, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse" to fulfill his sexual desires, according to prosecutors.

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Sean "Diddy" Combs has been accused of sex-trafficking and racketeering. (Jane Rosenberg)

While opening statements will begin Monday, the jury panel has yet to be finalized, according to Friday's status conference in the case. Diddy's legal team was concerned about jurors getting cold feet over the weekend, and Judge Arun Subramanian agreed.

"This doesn’t necessarily signal a struggle to seat the jury; it’s more about being cautious and setting the trial up for a smooth start with minimal disruptions," criminal defense lawyer Jo-Anna Nieves told Fox News Digital. "It’s a thoughtful and fairly common precaution."

Criminal defense attorney Eric Faddis added, "It’s normal for different phases of the trial to take longer than expected, but apparently at least one of the 45 potential jurors remaining has recently asked to be removed from this controversial, high-profile case."

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Opening statements in Diddy's trial are set to begin on Monday. (Getty Images)

Diddy's lawyer has also revealed the defense plans to introduce the idea that there was mutual violence in the rapper's relationships. Legal experts explained this tactic is "risky and complicated."

"The defense is essentially arguing that the relationship with Victim 1 was volatile on both sides, so it shouldn’t be seen as one-sided abuse or coercion," Nieves explained. "That might sound plausible at first, but in court, mutual violence doesn’t automatically cancel out claims of coercion. The focus will be on who held the power in the relationship. If Diddy controlled the situation through money, status, threats or manipulation, then any violence from the other party won’t excuse or equalize that dynamic."

"Jurors also tend to be turned off by strategies that seem like victim-blaming," she continued. "Trying to make the victim look just as responsible can backfire, especially if there’s evidence that Diddy was the primary aggressor. This approach might raise some questions in the jury’s mind, but it’s a strategy that depends heavily on context and credibility."

A "mutual combat" defense "doesn’t transform an allegedly non-consensual sexual encounter into a consensual one," Faddis added. "Though, if accepted as true, it may mitigate Diddy’s alleged actions in the eyes of the jurors."

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Cassie Ventura and Sean "Diddy" Combs dated from 2007 until 2018. (Getty Images)

Diddy's mutual violence position is likely going to be used to undercut the video of the rapper engaging in a physical altercation with ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura.

"Diddy’s legal team needs to distance the Cassie Ventura hotel video from the allegations in this case and ‘box it,'" Lovell explained. 

"This means describe it as a mutually violent altercation, a fight between two people in a romantic, decade-long relationship that has everything to do with private issues (i.e. infidelity) between a couple as opposed to racketeering or sex trafficking."

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Alex Fine and Cassie Ventura attend the MobLand Premiere after-party on March 31. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Paramount+)

Diddy also faces testimony from Ventura. The musician, who is pregnant, is set to testify using her real name in the trial, People magazine reported. Other alleged victims have been allowed to testify using pseudonyms.

"Cassie will gain sympathy from the jury as being an assault victim and the fact she is a soon-to-be mother," Lovell noted. "Nevertheless, Diddy’s team can remind the jury of how long ago this was, and that she was very different back then. Appearance before a jury is always very important, for both the defendant and credibility of witnesses, but the attorneys can diffuse this through evidence and reminding the jury that everyone in court will be on their best behavior and, by design, not exhibit the conduct for which they are either the subject of the prosecution or a testifying witness."

While the "Me & U" singer's current pregnancy doesn't "erase proof" of an allegedly violent past, Perlstein — a top Los Angeles litigator — told Fox News Digital, it could help her seem sympathetic on the stand.

Ventura's pregnancy "only increases the likelihood" that jurors will view her as a "sympathetic witness," Faddis told Fox News Digital. "It also undercuts the defense’s argument that Cassie, a woman modest in stature, is somehow equally involved in and responsible for the alleged physical altercations between the two."

Diddy has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and denied all the allegations.

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