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Sean "Diddy" Combs may have had several people write letters to support his release, but now his victims, including his former longtime girlfriend Casandra "Cassie" Ventura, are also speaking out.
On Tuesday, September 30, Cassie submitted her letter to Judge Arun Subramanian ahead of Combs' sentencing hearing. In it, she recalls her grueling testimony, in which she had to relive the intense mental, physical, and sexual abuse she suffered from her time with the Bad Boy Records founder. Ventura said that Combs' threats and despicable sex acts scarred her for life, and even led to suicidal thoughts.
"The horrors I endured drove me to have thoughts of suicide—ones I almost followed through on, if not for my family’s intervention and urging that I seek professional care," Ventura wrote. "I have been to rehab and have taken part in dozens of types of therapy modalities to confront, compartmentalize, and cope with the horrific memories of sexual and emotional abuse I endured for nearly ten years. While what he did to me is always present, I am slowly learning how to live my life free of the fear and horrors I endured, and in doing so am fully devoted to my husband and my children."
The "Me & U" singer spent four days on the witness stand during Combs' federal trial. During her testimony, Ventura told the court about the traumatizing events she endured during her 10-year relationship with Combs. She testified about how the artist groomed her into participating in his "freak-off" parties that would sometimes last for days. Ventura detailed the process of organizing their sexcapades, the drugs she was forced to take, and the beatings she took, especially during the infamous 2016 incident at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles.
Years after their relationship ended, Ventura said she still fears what Combs could do to her and her family. She also claimed that Combs has no intention to change, despite what his lawyers have said in hearings since his conviction, and alleges there will be "swift retribution" to those who spoke out against him during his trial.
"I still have nightmares and flashbacks on a regular, everyday basis, and continue to require psychological care to cope with my past," she wrote. "My worries that Sean Combs or his associates will come after me and my family is my reality... As much progress as I have made in recovering from his abuse, I remain very much afraid of what he is capable of and the malice he undoubtedly harbors towards me for having the bravery to tell the truth."
Judge Subramanian has already denied Combs' request for a new trial and shot down any opportunity to acquit him of his two Mann Act convictions. Combs will be sentenced on Friday, October 3.