Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to five felony counts of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
If he is convicted on all counts, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and could even face life in prison.
Prosecutors say Combs lured women into romantic relationships, forced them to take part in days of drug-fuelled sex parties and then blackmailed them with videos he recorded of the encounters.
Over the course of a two-month trial, jurors are expected to hear testimony from three and possibly four of the rapper’s female accusers as well as his former employees who prosecutors say helped arrange and cover up his actions.
In her opening statement on Monday in Manhattan federal court, prosecutor Emily Johnson said Combs “viciously attacked” women when they resisted taking part in the parties (known as “Freak Offs”) or otherwise upset him.
She told jurors they would hear testimony from victims who said Combs routinely beat them and exploded with rage at the smallest slights.
“They will tell you about some of the most painful experiences of their lives. The days they spent in hotel rooms, high on drugs, dressed in costumes to perform the defendant’s sexual fantasies,” Johnson said.
Defence lawyer Teny Geragos said on Monday that prosecutors were trying to twist Combs’ romantic relationships into a racketeering and sex trafficking case.
“Sean Combs is a complicated man, but this is not a complicated case. This case is about voluntary choices made by capable adults in consensual relationships,” Geragos said in her opening statement.
Jurors in the sex trafficking trial have viewed a 2016 video in which the hip-hop mogul assaulted his then-girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, throws her to the ground in the hallway of a Los Angeles area hotel and kicked her as she tried to enter a lift.
He was later seen throwing a vase in her direction, shattering it.
Combs apologised after the video first aired on CNN last year.
After opening statements, the 12 jurors and six alternates heard from the prosecution’s first witness, Israel Florez, a former security guard, who testified he received a call for help after the incident in 2016.
“Scared,” Florez replied when asked by a prosecutor to describe Ventura’s demeanour.
“She was in the corner and had a hoodie on. I couldn’t see her face.”
Florez said Combs offered him a stack of cash, which he understood to be a bribe to keep the incident quiet.
Florez declined the offer, he told the jury.
Marc Agnifilo, Combs’ lead lawyer, has said the 2016 hotel incident depicted the aftermath of a dispute over infidelity.
In a court hearing on Friday, Agnifilo said Ventura had a history of domestic violence, seeking to undercut prosecutors’ argument that she was a victim.
Ventura’s lawyer declined to comment.
Combs’ defence strategy at trial will hinge on undermining the credibility of the women who testify against Combs.
His lawyers will argue that the women were motivated by money to accuse him of wrongdoing and have unreliable memories.
Combs has also faced at least 50 civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual abuse, including one from Ventura, whose lawsuit was settled for undisclosed terms.
With AAP.
