Diddy Sexual Assault Lawsuit: Rapper Files Motion to Dismiss Revenge Porn Claims
April 27 2024, Published 11:00 a.m. ET
Sean "Diddy" Combs has filed a motion to dismiss several claims in one of the sexual assault lawsuits against him, arguing that he cannot be sued under laws that did not exist when the alleged incident occurred, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In a lawsuit filed in November before the expiration of the Adult Survivors Act, which allowed sexual assault victims to pursue claims past of the statute of limitations, Joi Dickerson-Neal accused the embattled hip-hop mogul of drugging and raping her after a date when she was a 19-year-old college student in 1991.
She also alleged that Diddy "videotaped his crime and distributed the tape to others in the music industry, causing severe harm to Ms. Dickerson-Neal’s reputation, career prospects, and emotional well-being."
According to new documents obtained by TMZ, Diddy's lawyers are contesting Dickerson-Neal's claims in court, noting that the New York Services for Victims of Human Trafficking Law came into effect in 2007, the New York Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection law passed in 2000, and the New York Stage Revenge Porn Law was codified in 2018 — all years after the alleged assault in 1991.
The rapper is asking to have the revenge porn and human trafficking claims to be dismissed with prejudice.
Even if those get dismissed, however, Dickerson-Neal will still have assault and battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims against Diddy under common law.
Dickerson-Neal's also listed Diddy's Bad Boy Records company as a defendant, which wasn't founded until several years later in 1993, another fact that Diddy's lawyers took issue with.
"This last-minute lawsuit is an example of how a well-intentioned law can be turned on its head," a spokesperson for Diddy said when the suit was filed in November. "Ms. Dickerson’s 32-year-old story is made up and not credible."
“Mr. Combs never assaulted her, and she implicates companies that did not exist," the representative added. "This is purely a money grab and nothing more."
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Dickerson-Neal's lawsuit is just one of several sexual assault claims made against Diddy in recent months.
Another woman alleged that Diddy and singer Aaron Hall sexually raped her in the '90s when she was 16 years old, and in February, a male music producer who worked on Diddy's 2023 Love Album filed a $30 million sexual assault lawsuit.
Last month, Diddy's properties in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by federal authorities as part of a sex trafficking investigation.
Diddy has denied all of the allegations against him.