Diddy makes yet another bid for freedom ahead of sex trafficking trial

Diddy was previously denied bail after a judge ruled the rapper is a ‘flight risk’ and a ‘danger to the community’

Sean “Diddy” Combs has made yet another bid for freedom ahead of his sex trafficking and racketeering trial.

On Monday, the rapper’s lawyers submitted a notice of appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals asking the court to overturn Judge Andrew Carter’s decision to keep him locked up in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, while he awaits trial.

In the filing, Anthony Ricco and Alexandra Shapiro – Mr Combs’s latest additions to his legal team – said the music mogul had promised to ban women from entering his home, undergo weekly drug tests, and to not meet anyone considered a witness or “co-conspirator” if his release on bail is granted.

No women other than Mr Combs’s mother and the mothers of his children would be allowed at his home, the bail appeal says.

The fresh appeal comes off the back of two failed bids to be released ahead of his trial.

Mr Combs’s legal team previously put together a $50m bail package, which included the surrender of his passport and putting him under 24-hour surveillance.

However, the judge denied it, siding with the prosecution that the 54-year-old is a “flight risk” and a “danger to the community”.

For nearly a year, Mr Combs has faced a series of civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual abuse, rape and misconduct.

Diddy’s legal team has appealed the decision to keep him locked up before trial (AP)

In March, federal agents raided two of the rapper’s homes in Los Angeles and Miami.

Then, last month, he was charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution after a federal grand jury in New York returned an indictment against him.

In the indictment unsealed on September 17, federal prosecutors allege Mr Combs and his associates threatened, abused and coerced women and others around him “to fulfil his sexual desires”.

That allegedly includes forcing victims into engaging in recorded sexual activity referred to as “freak offs”.

Mr Combs has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

During his first hearing, his attorney called him “an innocent man with nothing to hide”, claiming he had been cooperating with federal authorities and voluntarily relocated to New York in anticipation of his arrest.

As the hip-hop musician awaits trial from prison, his lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, has been interviewed for TMZ’s documentary The Downfall of Diddy: The Indictment, in which he spoke about his client’s state of mind.

The Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where the musician is being held (Getty)

“His state of mind is actually remarkable positive,” he said. “I spend several hours with him every day... His resolve is strong. He’s engaged.”

He continued: “He’s focused on his defence... he [has] come to terms with the fact that this is where he is for now.”

Mr Agnifilo added that Mr Combs is “very eager” to testify at his upcoming criminal trial. “I don’t know that I could keep him off the stand,” the attorney said. “I think he’s very eager to tell his story.”

“I think he will tell every part of his story, including what you see on the video,” Mr Agnifilo added, referring to the shocking surveillance footage that emerged in May showing Diddy physically assaulting his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in 2016.

The rapper’s next hearing is scheduled for 9 October.