This report includes descriptions of violence and alleged sex trafficking.
On Thursday, a witness in the sex trafficking trial of Sean Combs wrapped her testimony after six days on the witness stand. Testifying under the pseudonym "Jane" to protect her identity, the witness described a romantic relationship that alternated between "love bombing" and "sexual exploitation" up until Combs' arrest and indictment in September 2024.
Combs faces criminal charges for sex trafficking, transporting to engage in prostitution and racketeering conspiracy. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges. Jane is the second victim associated with one of the two sex trafficking charges in Combs' indictment; the first, his longtime-partner Cassie Ventura, testified earlier in the trial.
On the stand, both women described relationships defined by power imbalances, a deep desire to be closer to Combs and highly-orchestrated sexual performances that they felt coerced into. Where prosecutors focused heavily on violence and physical coercion in Ventura's relationship with Combs, they spent much of their time questioning Jane about ways Combs would allegedly promise quality time or financial support and then leverage those promises to pressure her into sexual performances — attempting to build a case of sex trafficking not just by force, but by fraud as well.
Throughout her more than 24 hours of testimony — the most time any one witness has spent on the stand during the trial — the often soft-spoken, polite Jane did not appear worn down or intimidated by the scrutiny. Unlike other witnesses who have at times struggled to recount events that happened over a decade ago, Jane seemed sure of herself as she detailed a relationship that ended eight months ago — though her continued connection to Combs also became a subject of questioning.
Jane, who is trying to maintain her privacy as she took the spotlight in the high-profile trial, still appeared to be psychologically and emotionally distressed by her time with Combs — breaking down in tears as she recounted certain moments, and often referring to him as "my lover" and "my partner." Elements of her testimony revealed a woman who still holds complex and sometimes conflicted feelings about the relationship, some of which she appeared to be working through in real time.
A 'toxic' relationship
Combs' defense attorney Teny Geragos, who had met with Jane up until April of this year, repeatedly asked the witness to explain her desire for monetary support and material gifts to the jury — leading Jane to snap at certain moments, trying to contextualize her version of events. Geragos also emphasized Jane's decision to get back together with Combs after taking a break more than once, trying to underline the defense's argument that she had a choice to walk away but stayed with him willingly. Jane was planning to fly to New York City to meet Combs before he was arrested and indicted on Sept. 17.
During the first few days of her testimony, Jane described a whirlwind romance with Combs that began in 2021 — but she said that within a few months, the rapper and producer introduced so-called "hotel nights" that would soon take up the majority of their time together. These nights involved Jane taking drugs, covering herself in baby oil and having sex with male "entertainers" for between 12 and 30 hours. According to her testimony, Combs would also consume drugs like ecstasy on these nights and watch Jane and the hired sex partner, often giving instructions, masturbating and recording the encounters.
Jane told the court that within a year, she told Combs she did not want to keep having sex with other men. She testified that Combs would often promise they could spend quality time alone, but would then pressure her to keep incorporating sex workers into their nights together. On the witness stand, Jane also described how her income as a social media creator suffered as she devoted more and more of her time to Combs' demands. Eventually, she said, he began paying her rent and supporting her financially, and he would bring up those payments whenever she resisted a "hotel night."
During cross-examination, defense attorney Teny Geragos focused on caring exchanges between Jane and Combs, Jane's involvement in planning the "hotel nights," and jealousy in the relationship. The defense has argued that Combs was in toxic yet consensual relationships that are not relevant to the charges he faces.
Hotel nights
Over the course of three days of cross examination, Geragos showed many text messages that Jane sent Combs in the aftermath of the couple's "hotel nights," telling him how much she loved him and how grateful she was to have him. Jane, much like Ventura, testified that she cherished her time alone with Combs and broke her own boundaries in order to make him happy. "That was the only reason I endured these nights, so that at the end I would have that love and affection from my partner," she said.
Geragos showed messages and voice memos that seemed to imply Jane was okay with the encounters. They included an occasion on which she planned a Valentine's Day "hotel night" to surprise Combs and suggested inviting two sex workers at the same time. Later, Jane testified that an unnamed famous rapper and his girlfriend asked her to recommend an escort for them. Jane said they may have come to her because they suspected she was "in the lifestyle." (Combs' defense team says their client led an "unconventional" sex life that included a "swinger lifestyle," but not sex trafficking).
Geragos also showed messages of Jane picking which escorts she preferred to have at the "hotel nights." On the witness stand, Jane said that with encouragement from Combs, she reached out to two adult performers and invited them to participate in these nights. She said she felt she had no choice but to participate in the encounters and would rather select men she already knew and felt safer with than be forced to have sex with a stranger. When Geragos asked if Jane consented to these encounters at the time and has only now come to regret them, Jane pushed back.
"I resent him for knowing how much I loved him and for knowing I couldn't say no to him," Jane told the court.
Geragos also showed messages from an instance in which Combs said it was all "all good" after Jane said she wasn't in the mood for a "hotel night," implying that Combs did not force Jane and respected her boundaries. During redirect from the government, prosecutor Maurene Comey showed texts from that same night in which Combs asked an escort to "persuade" Jane to comply.
Gifts and other girlfriends
On the witness stand, Jane said Combs told her early in the relationship that he was polyamorous and dated multiple women at once. Jane testified that she was initially okay with that, but became upset when Combs appeared to shower his other girlfriends with gifts, luxury vacations and the undivided attention Jane craved while he expected her to "degrade" herself in hotel rooms.
"It was never about the women," Jane said through tears. "It was, 'Why am I being treated like this?'"
Running through a timeline of the relationship, Geragos pointed out multiple times that Jane and Combs spent time together without having "hotel nights," implying Combs could not have trafficked Jane by fraud because she was not misled into these encounters. Geragos also asked Jane about gifts and gestures Combs offered her, which included a Van Cleef bracelet, dinners at Nobu, a $20,000 investment in her fashion line and a Bottega Veneta bag. The latter raised a point of contention in the courtroom.
"What is a Bottega bag?" Geragos asked.
"I'm sure you have one," Jane replied.
"How much does it cost?" Geragos asked.
"How much does my body cost?" Jane responded.
This exchange was one of several moments during cross-examination in which Jane took on a defiant tone, meeting Geragos' questions with sarcasm. More than once, Judge Arun Subramanian asked Jane to directly answer the defense's questions. (A Bottega Veneta bag, she eventually said, typically costs a few thousand dollars).
Criminal investigation
In November 2023, Cassie Ventura filed a civil lawsuit accusing Combs of rape, sex trafficking and assault. It was settled quickly, for $20 million, as Ventura revealed during her testimony. Jane and Combs were on a break at the time — but on the witness stand, she said she became sick reading through the complaint and felt like multiple pages described her own "trauma" word for word. At the time, Jane said, she told Combs that many of Ventura's allegations mirrored her own experiences in the relationship, and she could not believe he had put another woman through this before. The couple remained apart for several months while allegations against Combs grew.
During cross-examination, Jane said she missed Combs during this time and decided to get back together in the spring of 2024. Jane told the court that she noticed changes in Combs' attitude after Ventura's lawsuit: He became more affectionate, spent more time with her and began calling her his girlfriend for the first time since they'd started dating three years prior. Although Jane and Combs became aware he was under federal investigation around this time — Department of Homeland Security agents raided Combs' homes and tried to contact Jane in March of 2024 — Jane described this period as one when their emotional connection deepened.
In June of that year, a month after CNN released a video of Combs hitting, kicking and dragging Ventura, Jane said she and Combs had their first and only physical fight. The violence, which lasted hours into the night, began when Jane called Combs a "monster" and a "pedophile" and slammed his head into a counter because she suspected he'd taken a younger woman on a family vacation.
Jane said Combs proceeded to kick down four doors in her house as she tried to hide from him. According to Jane, Combs kicked, punched and slapped her throughout the altercation, at one point grabbing her in a chokehold and pulling her off the ground by her neck. Jane said the night ended with Combs texting an escort from her phone, giving her ecstasy and forcing her to perform oral sex on the man for hours.
Jane told the court that she continued to spend time with Combs after this fight, and Geragos showed text messages of the two discussing finding a therapist.
"He [was] so good at showering me with love and affection, with all of the sexual exploitation in between," Jane told the court.
During redirect questioning from the government, Jane said she testified because she received a federal subpoena and she is not planning to file a civil lawsuit or make any kind of legal demand from Combs. She acknowledged that he continues to pay her rent and is covering her legal fees in his criminal trial. As she left the witness stand, Jane hugged both prosecutor Maurene Comey and defense attorney Teny Geragos.
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