Judge rules woman suing Diddy for sexual assault must reveal identity if case proceeds

A federal judge in New York has ruled that the woman accusing Sean "Diddy" Combs of sexual assault must reveal her identity, should the case proceed.

Judge Jessica Clarke acknowledged that the disclosure "could have a significant impact on [the alleged victim], particularly given the graphic and disturbing allegations in this case," but noted that she "failed to demonstrate particularized harm or current vulnerabilities," thus there were no grounds for maintaining anonymity.

As USA Today reports, Clarke also reminded the woman that the plaintiffs in other high-profile sexual assault lawsuits, such as those filed against Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, were also denied the opportunity to keep their identities hidden from the public.

In her suit, the woman alleged that then-34-year-old Combs, Bad Boy Entertainment president Harve Pierre, and another man raped her in 2003 when she was in 11th grade. She said that Pierre approached her at a lounge in Michigan and told her he was "best friends" with Combs. After proving his claims via a phone call to the rapper/producer, she was convinced to fly to Combs' Daddy's House Recording Studio, where the alleged sexual assault was then said to have taken place.

The woman's lawyer, Douglas H. Wigdor, said the trio "preyed on a vulnerable high school teenager as part of a sex trafficking scheme that involved plying her with drugs and alcohol and transporting her by private jet to New York City where she was gang raped by the three individual defendants at Mr. Combs’ studio."

He added that "the depravity of these abhorrent acts has, not surprisingly, scarred our client for life." 

Combs denied the allegations, claiming in a filing that he "never participated in, witnessed, or was or is presently aware of any misconduct, sexual or otherwise" involving the woman. He also disputed photos purporting to show the woman on his lap that night.
 

This is just one of the many sexual assault allegations leveled against Combs, with multiple women and even producer Rodney Jones Jr claiming that he had mistreated them.