An exotic dancer testified Tuesday in Manhattan federal court that he was paid $800 to create an erotic scene for music executive Sean "Diddy" Combs and his then-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, while being instructed to avoid any acknowledgment of Combs. The testimony marked the latest in a series of graphic and disturbing allegations presented in Combs' high-profile federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial.
Sharay Hayes, who performed under the name "The Punisher," recounted being summoned to a Trump Tower suite in the fall of 2012 where Ventura, wearing a wig and a bathrobe with nothing underneath, greeted him at the door. Hayes testified that Ventura handed him a "sack of money" and directed him to "create a sexy scene of me and her applying baby oil on each other and create a sexy environment that her husband would come upon."
"She said do not acknowledge her husband, try not to look at him and no communication," Hayes told jurors. He said he later discovered Combs' identity when he saw "Welcome Sean Combs" on the hotel's television screen. He added that Combs sat in the room wearing a veil and watched silently.
Hayes' account echoed earlier testimony from Daniel Phillip, who last week alleged he was also paid to have sex with Ventura while Combs observed. Ventura, who delivered four days of testimony, accused Combs of sustained sexual and physical abuse during their relationship from 2006 to 2018. She described being forced into degrading acts and said Combs referred to videos of these encounters as "blackmail materials."
Cassie Ventura's mother, Regina Ventura, also took the stand Tuesday. Jurors were shown a 2011 email in which Cassie wrote that Combs had threatened her and claimed he would "release 2 explicit sex tapes of me." The message also said Combs told her he would arrange to have her harmed and "made a point that it wouldn't be by his hands... he actually said he'd be out of the country when it happened."
Regina Ventura identified photos taken at her Connecticut home showing Cassie with visible bruises on her back and legs. She was "beaten by Sean Combs," the mother stated under oath.
Combs, 55, was arrested in September 2024 and has pleaded not guilty to charges including sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison. Opening statements in the trial began May 12, with federal prosecutors arguing that Combs used his wealth and influence to coerce, manipulate, and exploit individuals over more than a decade.
