Sean “Diddy” Combs’s criminal trial on federal sex trafficking charges is scheduled to start with jury selection on Monday in New York City. Since his arrest at a Manhattan hotel in September, the criminal case has triggered the downfall of Diddy’s reputation as a hip-hop music mogul who built one of the most influential entertainment empires in the 1990s.

Federal prosecutors allege that for decades Combs “abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.” The government’s indictment also claims that Combs would host so-called freak offs, days-long events where he allegedly forced his victims to engage in sex with male sex workers, often while he recorded them.

Combs, 55, could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted on all counts. The government offered a plea deal, sparing him of a possible prolonged prison sentence, but Combs formally turned down the deal last week at the final hearing before Monday’s jury selection was scheduled to begin.

U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian is presiding over the jury trial, which is expected to last from eight to 10 weeks. Opening statements are scheduled to begin May 12.

Yahoo News spoke to Molly Parmer, a federal criminal defense lawyer based in Atlanta, to better understand this complex case. Her answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Molly Parmer: This is a criminal case that is being prosecuted by the feds. The case against Sean Combs started with a Department of Homeland Security Investigations raid of his homes [in March 2024].

Based on whatever evidence they gathered, whatever witnesses they interviewed between that raid and his [September 2024] indictment, the feds believed that they had a certain level of evidence that would bring about a federal indictment charging racketeering conspiracy, transportation to engage in prostitution and sex trafficking.

What are the five federal counts Diddy is charged with in this case?

Count one

The first count is pretty extensive. It’s a violation of the Racketeering Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as a RICO violation.

What you have to prove in a RICO prosecution is that there’s a pattern of racketeering activity. You can’t just commit one crime. You have to be part of a group or an organization that is committing a series of crimes.

In Diddy’s indictment, we see allegations that he engaged in this group, and the pattern of racketeering activity includes everything from kidnapping to arson to drug distribution and then of course to the sex crimes. All of these are laid out to try and establish that there was a pattern of criminal activity.

Counts two and four

The next counts are violations of the federal sex trafficking statute that says you have to use force or coercion to sex traffic [adults].

A big part of these charges for the government is proving that there was no consent here. Having a sex party, a “freak off” unto itself, is not a crime. Having a lot of baby oil in a home is not a crime. What the government has to prove here is that the individuals engaged in these parties were there only because of force and coercion and duress. That’s gonna be the heart of all of those counts when presented to the jury.

Counts three and five

Lastly, we see [the transportation to engage in prostitution charges, which] are basically moving individuals across state lines for purposes of committing a crime. That’s the count that has the least amount of penalty associated with it.

What are the maximum penalties Diddy could face if convicted?

In total, he’s facing a huge amount of time if convicted. The mandatory minimum for the sex trafficking count alone is 15 years. In the federal system, there’s no parole. So he’s looking at decades and decades in prison if the government is able to prove what they’ve alleged.

There has been a lot of talk about a surveillance video that will be played in court of Diddy apparently assaulting former girlfriend Cassie Ventura in 2016. What should people know about this video? What kind of impact do you think it could have on the jury?

We not only had the video that a lot of us saw, but then we had Diddy come out and kind of acknowledge the assault on social media. We have to remember that the 2016 assault is not what he’s on trial for this time. The attorneys went back and forth about whether this could even be played in front of the jury, and ultimately it’s going to be brought in as evidence.

Both sides are going to come at it from different angles. The government’s going to say: “Why was he assaulting her? Because she was under duress, she was being coerced and she was responding.” Because at the time, Diddy was allegedly forcing Cassie to be with a male prostitute. So that goes to some of the sex trafficking counts.

The defense is going to say that “just because he committed that crime doesn’t mean that he had any sort of coercion, duress or power over her as it relates to these federal crimes.” Totally different jurisdictions, totally different cases and totally different charges.

What are some of the other arguments the prosecution plans to make?

The prosecution is not only going to present a series of witnesses at these parties, including the alleged victims, but they’re also going to present expert testimony. They are going to explain why sometimes we see a delayed outcry, why these victims may have participated in these parties years ago and never felt like they could come forward.

We’re going to hear firsthand knowledge from the participants who suffered the alleged coercion and duress.

We’re also going to see them bookend that with a forensic psychologist who’s going to explain why these women have come forward years later and why sometimes they would stick around and still participate even though they were under such coercion and duress.

What are some of the main arguments you expect Diddy’s attorneys to make?

Diddy’s lawyers have a lot of different angles from which they can attack these allegations.

We’re going to see the defense attack the intent and thought behind all of these Diddy parties. They’re also going to attack the testimony of the witnesses who say they were forced to be there. If the defense can prove to the jury that there was consent, then they can get an acquittal.

Will Diddy’s trial be televised? Why or why not?

The Diddy sex trial will not be televised. There are no cameras allowed in federal courts. We typically see sketch artists in the courtroom drawing the cast of characters, the lawyers and various witnesses — that’s the most we’re going to see in terms of a visual depiction.

Since Diddy’s arrest, other celebrities’ names have been floated as being associated with the alleged crimes. Do we expect to see any celebrities take the stand?

We don’t quite know who’s going to make an appearance on the stand. For the most part, when attorneys are going to trial, you get handed a witness list pretty late in the game, if at all.

We can expect that the government is going to certainly bring in the victims and attendees at the parties. I think it’s very likely when you’re dealing with parties that were attended by plenty of famous people in Hollywood, that some of them have been issued federal subpoenas already and have no choice but to follow the law, come into court and take the stand.

After the prosecution rests, the defense will present their case. They don’t have an obligation to present any evidence or testimony at all. It’s the government’s burden. I think the question in a case like this is also will Diddy testify himself? That decision is not made until pretty late in the trial.

Many people probably won’t be able to follow Diddy’s trial every day. Which parts do you think will be most worth paying attention to?

I would encourage people to pay attention to the opening statements. Those should be a bit of a road map for the listener to help frame the evidence and the testimony from both sides.

When it comes to allegations of sex crimes, the credibility of the alleged victims is really important. I think we also have to listen to the cross-examination from the defense and whether they are able to attack credibility in a way that suddenly makes it seem as though the government hasn’t proven the force and coercion aspect, which the government absolutely must prove in this case to get a conviction.