NEW YORK – Sean “Diddy” Combs was denied bail Wednesday as he awaits trial on sex trafficking charges in May by a judge who cited evidence showing he posed a “serious risk” of witness tampering and evidence that he attempted to conceal prohibited communications with third parties. incarcerated.

U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian issued a five-page ruling following a bail hearing last week. At the hearing, the hip-hop mogul’s lawyers argued that a $50 million bond they were proposing would be enough to ensure Combs doesn’t run away and try to intimidate the potential witnesses in the trial.

Two other judges previously agreed with prosecutors that the Bad Boy Records founder posed a danger to the community if not behind bars. Subramanian agreed.

“There is compelling evidence of Combs’ propensity for violence,” Subramanian wrote.

Combs’ lawyers did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment on the decision. Nicholas Biase, a spokesman for prosecutors, declined to comment.

Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty accusations that he coerced and abused women for years, helped by his partners and employees. An indictment alleges he silenced victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnappings, arson and beatings.

A federal appeals court judge last month denied Combs’ immediate release while a three-judge panel at the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan considers his request for bail. That appeal was put on hold while Subramanian, newly appointed to the case after the resignation of a previous judge, considered the bail application for the first time.

Subramanian said he took a fresh look at all the arguments regarding bail and the evidence supporting them to make his decision.

Prosecutors insisted no bail conditions would be enough to protect the public and prevent the “I’ll Be Missing You” singer from fleeing.

They say that even at a federal prison in Brooklyn, Combs orchestrated social media campaigns designed to influence potential jurors and attempted to publicly release documents he believed could help his case. They claim he also contacted potential witnesses through third parties.

Combs’ lawyers say any alleged sexual abuse described in the indictment occurred during consensual relationships between adults and that new evidence refutes allegations that Combs used his power. “Power and prestige” induce female victims in drugged and elaborate sexual performances with male sex workers known as “Freak Offs”.

Subramanian said the evidence shows Combs poses a “serious risk of witness tampering,” particularly after he communicated over the summer with a grand jury witness and deleted some of his texts with the witness.

The judge also cited evidence showing that Combs violated Bureau of Prisons regulations while on remand at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn when he paid other inmates to use their telephone numbers so he could call people who were not on his approved contact list.

He said there was also evidence that he asked family members and defense attorneys to add other people to the three-way calls so that their communications would be harder to trace and that he had made efforts to influence the jury at his trial or to reach potential witnesses.

Subramanian said his “willingness to circumvent” prison rules to conceal communications was “strong evidence” that release conditions would not prevent similar behavior.

The judge said defense allegations that Combs had stopped using a particular telephone technique criticized by prosecutors were belied by the fact that Combs apparently used it again on Sunday, two days after his bail hearing under bail last week.

Even a bail proposal that would include the strictest form of home confinement appears insufficient, the judge said.

“Given the nature of the allegations in this case and the information provided by the Government, the Court doubts the sufficiency of the conditions that place the trust in Combs and the individuals in his employ – such as a private security service – to comply with these conditions,” Subramanian said. wrote.