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On Tuesday, May 20, Cassie Ventura's mother, Regina Ventura, took the stand as a witness in Diddy's sex trafficking trial. After Regina was sworn in, prosecutors brought an email Cassie had sent her in December 2011.
The content of the email revealed that Combs had allegedly threatened Cassie to release her explicit videos after learning she was dating Kid Cudi, NBC News reports.
Regina testified that she was physically sick at the time and didn't understand what was going on, but had gathered that Diddy was trying to hurt Cassie. She claimed that the Bad Boy Records owner wanted $20,000 in exchange for the video.
Ventura added that Combs was angry at her daughter for being with another person after he had spent money on her.
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Because the Ventura family didn't have the money with them at the time, Regina took out a home equity loan to pay Diddy. The money was returned to her several days later, Regina told the jurors.
Regina Ventura also testified about taking photos of her bruised daughter in December 2011, in order to keep a record of Diddy's alleged beatings.
Elsewhere, Ventura said she had once called the cops on Combs after Cassie told her that the rapper had taken her phone. She also claimed to have a bitter argument with Diddy outside Cassie's apartment, in which she tried to hit him but was unsuccessful.
Eventually, the Bad Boy Records owner gave Cassie her phone back, but took her car with him when he left, Regina told the court.
Per NBC News, Regina Ventura's testimony against Combs remained uncontested as the defense attorneys declined to cross-examine her.
After Regina Ventura, a male exotic dancer, took the stand in Diddy's trial
After Regina Ventura, the next witness to take the stand was Sharay Hayes. Hayes is a 51-year-old man who works as an exotic dancer, going by the name The Punisher.
In his testimony, Hayes spoke about his first sexual encounter with Cassie Ventura and Diddy, which took place in 2012.
He was called to a Trump Tower hotel suite in the fall of 2012, where Cassie greeted him in a bathroom and a wig. After handing him a sack of money, with $800 inside, Cassie asked him to "create a sexy scene of me and her applying baby oil on each other and create a sexy environment that her husband would come up on."
Hayes was also instructed by Cassie not took look directly at Combs, acknowledge him, or have a conversation with him. Following their first encounter, Ventura handed him a healthy tip of $1,200, which made for more gigs.
After the court's lunch break, Hayes continued his testimony, claiming that he had performed for Cassie and Combs between 8-12 times.
The dancer also testified that he never had the sense that Cassie was uncomfortable with his performance during their multiple encounters. According to him, it always appeared to be consensual, with Combs playing the role of the director of the scenes.
Combs, who has previously denied all charges pressed against him, can face life imprisonment if he is convicted at the end of his trial.
