The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office scorned the newly-released 2016 footage of Sean 'Diddy' Combs violently assaulting his ex-girlfriend, singer, actress and model, Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura. However, due to the timeline in which the incident occurred, charges are unable to be filed.
After CNN shared the video on Friday afternoon (May 17), district attorney George Gascón provided a statement via Instagram about the DA's office's inability to move forward due to the statute of limitations.
"We are aware of the video that has been circulating online allegedly depicting Sean Combs assaulting a young woman in Los Angeles," the message began. "We find the images extremely disturbing and difficult to watch. 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."
It continued, "As of today, law enforcement has not presented a case related to the attack depicted in the video against Mr. Combs, but we encourage anyone who has been a victim or witness to a crime to report it to law enforcement or reach out to our office for support from our Bureau of Victims Services."
According to legal organizations, California has a statute of limitations of one year for misdemeanors to three years for felonies, making the 2016 assault exempt for both, as it happened eight years ago.
Combs and Ventura settled their 2023 lawsuit in which the latter accused Combs of rape and abuse, but the documents detailed Combs assaulting the singer in multiple LA hotels, including the InterContinental Los Angeles in Century City, which has since closed. The 2016 assault was filmed in a hotel hallway, showing Combs chasing Ventura, viciously grabbing her, dragging her, and kicking her repeatedly.
In a People exclusive, Tracy Walder, a former CIA and FBI special agent, alleged that Combs "settled so quickly" with Ventura because of the footage, which he didn't expect to be aired.
"Diddy never expected the video to get out. It's very upsetting that this has exceeded its statute of limitations. It does depend on what the charge could be, but it can range from one to three years," she told the outlet.
Guessing that more will "come down soon in terms of charges," Walder alleged that "either [Cassie's] attorney or the hotel gave CNN the footage since the hotel only got paid $50,000 to keep it quiet," in accordance with Ventura's lawsuit.
