The alleged victims are said to be scattered throughout the US, but many are in California, New York, Florida and Georgia.
Much of the alleged abuse happened at the rapper’s infamous parties, Buzbee said, as well as auditions where victims - including the 9-year-old - were allegedly abused by Combs and others who promised them record deals.
“If you’re out there, and you have been victimised, you are not alone. There is a great strength in numbers,” Buzbee said at the press conference, as per Daily Mail.
The legal action is the latest against Combs, who was indicted last month on three criminal counts that allege he sexually abused women and coerced them into drug-fuelled sex parties using threats and violence.
Allegations have been building against Combs since last year, when singer Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, alleged Combs subjected her to more than a decade of coercion by physical force and drugs as well as a 2018 rape.
A spate of similarly lurid lawsuits since describe Combs as a violent man who used his celebrity to prey on women.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges. He has been jailed awaiting trial.
A federal document unsealed last month alleged the disgraced hip-hop mogul “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfil his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct”. He is also accused of creating a criminal organisation that carried out and covered up his alleged crimes, including “sex trafficking, forced labour, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, coercion and enticement to engage in prostitution, narcotics offences, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice”, as per the Washington Post.
“This office is determined to investigate and prosecute anyone who engages in sex trafficking, no matter how powerful or wealthy or famous you may be,” Damian Williams, US attorney for the Southern District of New York, said at the time.
“A year ago, Sean Combs stood in Times Square and was handed a key to New York City. Today, he’s been indicted and will face justice.”
In March, the Department of Homeland Security executed search warrants on Combs’ mansions in Los Angeles and Miami.
Following his arrest, Marc Agnifilo, an attorney for Combs, said in a statement that they were “disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr Combs by the US attorney’s office”.
“Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man, and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children, and working to uplift the black community.”
- AFP with NZME
