Jodeci member DeVante Swing has been named as a new co-defendant in Diddy’s sexual abuse lawsuit.
A lawsuit that previously alleged Sean “Diddy” Combs and singer Aaron Hall raped a heavily intoxicated 16-year-old girl in 1990 has now added Jodeci member DeVanté Swing as a co-defendant, per Rolling Stone.
An amended complaint was filed in federal court in New Jersey, in which plaintiff Liza Gardner alleged Swing – real name Donald DeGrate – was present at Hall’s New Jersey residence during the 1990 incident. Gardener was said to have been “shocked and traumatised” after Combs allegedly pulled her underwear to the side and “forcefully” raped her.
The amended lawsuit obtained by the publication states that “unbeknownst to Ms. Gardner at the time, Defendant Swing was in the room when this assault took place and did not take any steps to prevent this abuse from occurring”.
DeVante Swing of Jodeci performs in concert at HEB Center on August 25, 2023 in Cedar Park, Texas. CREDIT: Gary Miller/Getty Images)
The latest filing follows a woman submitting a sworn statement in May, stating she accompanied Gardner as a minor that night. She alleged she saw Swing “leaning against the wall or furniture or something, watching whatever Puffy was doing to Liza.”
The new filing alleges Gardner travelled to the New York area with Swing and a group of friends from her North Carolina hometown and was staying in his New Jersey housing, which was allegedly “subsidised” by Jodeci’s label at the time, Uptown Records (a subsidiary of MCA).
The suit said Combs was working as an A&R executive at Uptown and was charged with “the task of developing” R&B quartet Jodeci. Around this time, it’s stated he met Gardner at an MCA event in Manhattan and had travelled back to New Jersey with her group to Hall’s residence.
Per the amended lawsuit, Gardner was attempting to collect herself after the alleged sexual assault from Combs, when Hall is then purported to have “barged into the room, pinned her down” and raped her too. Included in the new complaint was a photo of her and Hall in a kitchen that day.
Gardner goes on to claim that a day after the alleged sexual assault, Combs came into the home she was staying in and began to choke her until she passed out. She said Combs intended to keep his girlfriend at the time unaware of what happened.
Homeland Security Investigation agents are seen at the entrance of Diddy’s home at Star Island in Miami Beach on March 25, 2024. CREDIT: GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images
Hall and Combs are accused of sexual assault and battery in the amended complaint, and Swing is accused of “aiding and abetting” the alleged abuse. He is also named as Gardner’s “co-guardian at the time” in the new filing because he had invited her on the trip.
“He had a duty to protect the child as her parents entrusted him with her safety,” the lawsuit claims. “He trafficked and or coerced the child [to] travel across state lines from North Carolina to New York and New Jersey with the hidden intention of providing the child with alcohol, and marijuana and prostituting the child to his A&R Combs.”
Likewise, Swing is also included with all the lawsuit’s defendants in causes of action alleging negligent infliction of emotional distress and violation of the Mann Act, which includes a claim for “transportation of a minor with intent to engage in illegal sexual activity.”
When Gardner initially filed her claims in New York state court last November, Combs’ legal team said they were “fabricated” in the wake of Casandra “Cassie” Ventura’s rape and sex-trafficking lawsuit filed against Combs a week earlier. They said Gardner’s complaint was “nothing but a money grab”.
Sean Combs is seen on October 26, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California (CREDIT: MEGA/GC Images)
Meanwhile, a trial date for Diddy’s sex trafficking and abuse case has been set for 2025. Last month, the rap mogul was arrested in New York and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transporting for prostitution, to which he plead not guilty to all charges.
On Wednesday (October 9), Diddy returned to court in New York for his latest hearing session, where a judge announced that the disgraced rapper’s trial date has been set for May 5 – the same date as the 2025 Met Gala event.
Per CNN, prosecutor Emily Johnson suggested that the case could last three weeks, but added that a superseding indictment may affect the duration of the trial – this means that additional charges and defendants can still be added to the case. On the other hand, Diddy’s attorney Marc Agnifilo said that the rapper’s defence team will likely need a week to make their case.
According to a Rolling Stone report, Diddy could face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty. He is next expected to appear in court on December 18.
The wave of legal issues is ongoing, and last month, more claims came to light in a separate lawsuit in which a woman alleged that Diddy and his bodyguard drugged, raped her and filmed the incident in 2001 – the bodyguard has not addressed these claims. Diddy has denied criminal wrongdoing, according to BBC.
New information about Diddy’s alleged arson attack on Kid Cudi’s car was also recently revealed in a newly unearthed Los Angeles City Fire Department report – and Diddy has yet to comment on the arson allegations.
Last week, news emerged that Diddy is now also potentially facing new lawsuits from around 120 people accusing him of sexual abuse and assault, including 25 minors.
Texan lawyer Tony Buzbee held a virtual press conference last week where he shared that of the 120 alleged victims, 60 were men and 60 were women. Among these 120 people, 25 were minors at the time of the alleged abuse, with the youngest alleged victim aged nine-years-old.
In a statement to Rolling Stone, Diddy’s lawyer Erica Wolff said the musician “emphatically and categorically denies” the allegations. “As Mr. Combs’ legal team has emphasised, he cannot address every meritless allegation in what has become a reckless media circus,” she said.
For more help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
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