LA DA's office says it cant prosecute 'Diddy' over 'disturbing' video of Cassie Ventura attack
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LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office has commented on recently surfaced video from 2016 allegedly showing Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs attacking then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a Century City hotel, saying that the office wouldn't be able to prosecute the media mogul.
The video, obtained by CNN, shows the two in an elevator lobby at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City, near Beverly Hills. The surveillance footage appears to show Diddy, chasing Ventura down a hallway in a towel before hitting her, throwing her to the ground, kicking and dragging her.
The incident was outlined in a lawsuit Ventura filed against her ex-boyfriend in November 2023, which was settled the next day. In the filing, Ventura's lawyers talked about a March 2016 incident where "Mr. Combs became extremely intoxicated and punched Ms. Ventura in the face, giving her a black eye." Then when Ventura tried to leave, lawyers claimed Diddy followed her, then "grabbed her, and then took glass vases into the hallway and threw them at her, causing the glass to crash around them as she ran to the elevator to escape."
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Sean 'Diddy' Combs seen on video assaulting Cassie at LA hotel in 2016
The LA County DA's Office issued a statement on Instagram Friday, calling the video "extremely disturbing and difficult to watch." But, the office added, "if the conduct depicted occurred in 2016, unfortunately we would be unable to charge as the conduct would have occurred beyond the timeline where a crime of assault can be prosecuted."
According to the California Courts website, the statute of limitations for assault in California is two years, meaning that charges would have to be filed within two years of the day of the alleged assault.
The DA's office added that "as of [Friday], law enforcement has not presented a case related to the attack depicted in the video against Mr. Combs."
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In response to the video, Douglas H. Wigdor, Ventura's lawyer, said in a statement that "the gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing predatory behavior of Mr. Combs. Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light."
FOX 11 has reached out to Diddy's legal team for comment, but has not heard back.
In March, Homeland Security agents raided Diddy's Los Angeles and Miami homes in connection with a sex trafficking investigation, though federal investigators have not named Diddy as a focus of that investigation.