Warning: This story contains details of graphic sexual acts and domestic violence.
Casandra "Cassie" Ventura was a picture of "poise" and "grace" as she entered the courtroom to give evidence against her ex-boyfriend of more than a decade, and her former boss music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs.
Known professionally as Cassie, she's emerged as a powerful figure after bravely telling her story in a New York courtroom, winning the admiration of many globally.
Cassie's ordeal with Combs resulted in her losing friends, as her former best friend testified during the trial. She long ago lost her innocence. Cassie's career trajectory was stunted. But one thing she has refused to shed is her dignity.
Combs has been found not guilty on one count of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking.
He has been found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
While some advocacy groups say the mixed verdict is a backwards step for victims, a legal expert says the sentence, which will be handed down in October, is a much better indication of whether justice has been served.
Brian Buckmire is a practicing attorney, ABC America legal contributor, and the host of Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy, a popular and captivating podcast which gives listeners a backstage pass to the rise and fall of Combs.
As someone who practices in the same courtroom where Combs was tried — the Southern District of New York — Mr Buckmire had unique access to the courtroom and was right there throughout the trial.
He was almost in awe of Cassie as she walked into the courtroom.
"When Cassie testifies, I'm in the courtroom, she's walking centimetres away from me as she walks towards the witness stand," Mr Buckmire told ABC News.
"She [almost] glides with this grace and poise and you can notice immediately even with some loose-fitting clothes on some days, or a jacket, that she's very pregnant."
Cassie, 38, gave birth to her third child roughly two weeks after taking the witness stand, testifying for a period of four days.
She has two other children with her husband, fitness entrepreneur and actor Alex Fine — Frankie, born December 6, 2019, and Sunny, born March 22, 2021.
Mr Buckmire said Cassie delivered her testimony in a soft tone.
"At times she broke down when there was difficult testimony that she was talking about," Mr Buckmire said.
"And even when she was cross-examined by Teny Geragos, she still maintained that kind of small and quiet way she responded."
He says her testimony drew you in.
"I don't know if it was the nature of the testimony that she was giving, the fact that she was pregnant, [or] how she testified," Mr Buckmire said.
"I think it was all three combined, but I think your heart truly broke for her as you saw that she was still in many ways in this fog of a domestic violence relationship but was doing her utmost best to give the facts as they were."
How did we get here?
Cassie was born in Connecticut in August 1986 to her mother Regina who has West Indian, Mexican, and African American ancestry and her father Rodrick who is Filipino.
In June 2021, Cassie celebrated Father's Day by posting a tribute to her parents on Instagram.
"You (and Mom) have been my greatest support system and THE most real and true example of unconditional love," she wrote.
Cassie first met Combs in 2005 when she was 19 years old, and Combs was in his 30s.
She already had a hit on her hands with the song Me & U, which was getting radio airplay and was being heard in clubs after she'd built a following in the early days of social media.
This is the song that drew Combs to Cassie.
Combs signed Cassie to a 10-album deal with his record company Bad Boy, and her and Combs would later develop a romantic relationship.
Cassie only released one of those albums, the self-titled Cassie, which was released in August 2006 and debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 charts.
Her career never really took off beyond that.
Cassie's appearances on 106 & Park, a TV show which was a cultural touchstone in the United States on BET (Black Entertainment Television), and on MTV's Total Request Live were widely panned by critics and fans, with Cassie stating in her 2023 civil lawsuit against Combs that she suffered from significant performance anxiety.
We now know what was going on behind the scenes with Cassie testifying that she engaged in "freak-offs" — drug-fuelled orgies with male escorts — while Combs watched, masturbated, and filmed, even directing the encounters.
As Cassie tells it, this left little time to focus on her music.
"The question [that] I think will always remain is: was Cassie not as talented as we believe?" Mr Buckmire said.
"Was she a studio artist rather than a performance artist?
"Or was it the brutality and the abuse and the Sean Combs of it all that knocked out that talent?
"Because from what we saw in this trial, she went through a lot, and I don't know how you go through that and still be successful at your craft."
What did Diddy do to Cassie?
In November 2023, Cassie filed a civil lawsuit alleging a violent and abusive relationship in which Combs would savagely beat her leaving bruises.
She also alleged that she was forced into sex trafficking, for which Combs has been acquitted in the federal case.
The civil lawsuit was settled within a day for $US20 million ($30.5 million).
Combs denied all allegations.
When CNN broadcast hotel security footage in which Combs is seen assaulting Cassie, it seemed to corroborate Cassie's account of those particular events.
Combs took to social media to apologise for what was on the video.
He was later arrested after Homeland Security raids on his homes and has been in jail ever since.
In May 2024, after the footage of her being violently assaulted made its way around the world, Cassie posted to Instagram, asking that people believe victims the first time they speak out.
Full statement from Cassie, May 23, 2024:
Thank you for all of the love and support from my family, friends, strangers and those I have yet to meet. The outpouring of love has created a place for my younger self to settle and feel safe now, but this is only the beginning. Domestic Violence is THE issue. It broke me down to someone I never thought I would become. With a lot of hard work, I am better today, but I will always be recovering from my past.
Thank you to everyone that has taken the time to take this matter seriously. My only ask is that EVERYONE open your heart to believing victims the first time. It takes a lot of heart to tell the truth out of a situation that you were powerless in.
I offer my hand to those that are still living in fear. Reach out to your people, don't cut them off. No one should carry this weight alone.
This healing journey is never ending, but this support means everything to me. Thank you.
Love Always,
Cassie
The defence won
Mr Buckmire says there's no doubt that Combs won the federal case.
"I don't think there's any interpretation where you say the defence did not win," Mr Buckmire said.
"They avoided a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison with both [of] the sex trafficking charges being dismissed.
"They avoided life in prison, which would be the maximum for both the RICO as well as the sex trafficking.
"They avoided automatic forfeiture of Sean Combs's assets that would have been tied directly or indirectly to the racketeering conspiracy if he was found guilty of that charge.
"And he was only found guilty on the two counts that … have no mandatory minimum and have the lowest top end of prison time being a max of 10 years each.
"If Sean Combs walks out of this doing five years of prison … because you were facing life in prison? That is a win."
Cassie's testimony will save next potential victim
Mr Buckmire says while some people have interpreted the verdict to mean the jury didn't believe Cassie, he does not believe this to be the case.
"I could say, at least from my reaction to hearing her testify, my observation of the jurors when she testified, and even to the arguments, she was believed," Mr Buckmire said.
"I don't think anyone walked out of that courtroom thinking that Cassie was not a victim.
"I think what the defence did that was very intelligent and something that the government came short in was: what was she a victim of?"
He says the defence openly admitted that Cassie was a victim of domestic violence at the hands of Combs, but not sex trafficking.
"Cassie displayed that she was brutally abused by Sean Combs, that he is a short-tempered abusive man towards Cassie and many other women that he was involved with.
"But I think the defence was smart to say: 'What are we here for and what is he guilty of are two different things.'
"And I think they gave themselves the credibility of saying, and Teny Geragos said this in opening statements, 'in some regard, he's indefensible … especially for what he did to Cassie.'
"But I think that they were successful in arguing that Sean Combs is abusive for abuse sake, not for the purposes of transporting Cassie for the purposes of commercial sex through force, fraud, coercion, or the threat of force.
"And that's what sex trafficking is."
A victory from the clutches of defeat for prosecution
Cassie's lawyers contacted ABC News after the verdict, telling us the entire criminal process started due to the courage Cassie showed in filing her civil complaint in November 2023.
Her lawyer, Douglas H Wigdor, says Cassie has left an indelible mark on the entertainment industry and the fight for justice for survivors.
Full statement from Douglas H Wigdor (Wigdor LLP):
"This entire criminal process started when our client Cassie Ventura had the courage to file her civil complaint in November 2023. Although the jury did not find Combs guilty of sex trafficking Cassie beyond a reasonable doubt, she paved the way for a jury to find him guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution. By coming forward with her experience, Cassie has left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice. We must repeat — with no reservation — that we believe and support our client who showed exemplary courage throughout this trial. She displayed unquestionable strength and brought attention to the realities of powerful men in our orbit and the misconduct that has persisted for decades without repercussion. This case proved that change is long overdue, and we will continue to fight on behalf of survivors."
Mr Buckmire says it's possible to pluck a victory from the clutches of defeat, and he believes that's what Cassie's lawyers are doing.
"But I think there is a catharsis," Mr Buckmire says.
"I think there is a positive aspect to going into court, facing the person that you're accusing of sexual crimes and testifying in the way that Cassie did and no matter what the result, I think there's a victory in that for her.
"Whether it be for her own catharsis, her own growth, her own feelings, whatever that may be.
"I think 100 per cent right, her attorney is correct in this, that her lawsuit started this all.
"Without her lawsuit, these allegations would be swept under the rug, never to see the light of day and I think if it doesn't amount to a long-term incarceration, at the very least, we're all aware of the man that Sean Combs is.
"And I think that Cassie's testimony at the very least protected maybe the next woman who would have been the next Cassie.
"And so, I think there's a lot of things that she can walk out of this trial for and say that she was successful, she's powerful, and that she's done a lot in terms of attaining justice in one way, shape or form."
During the trial Mr Wigdor read a statement to reporters outside court from Cassie's husband, who said the world is a safer place due to his wife's testimony.
Full statement from Cassie's husband, Alex Fine:
"Over the past five days, the world has gotten to witness the strength and bravery of my wife, freeing herself of her past. There has been speculation online surrounding how it must feel for me to sit there and listen to my wife's testimony. I have felt so many things sitting there. I have felt tremendous pride and overwhelming love for Cass. I have felt profound anger that she has been subjected to sitting in front of a person who tried to break her. So, to him and all of those who helped him along the way, please know this: You did not. You did not break her spirit nor her smile that lights up every room. You did not break the souls of a mother who gives the best hugs and plays the silliest games with our little girls. You did not break the woman who has made me a better man. I did not save Cassie, as some have said. To say that is an insult to the years of painful work my wife has done to save herself. Cassie saved Cassie. She alone broke free from abuse, coercion, violence and threats. She did the work of fighting the demons that only a demon himself could have done to her. All I have done is love her as she has loved me. Her life is now surrounded by love, laughter and our family. This horrific chapter is forever put behind us, and we will not be making additional statements. We appreciate all of the love and support we have received, and we ask that you respect our privacy as we welcome our son into a world that is now safer because of his mom."
The next step
Mr Buckmire says the next step is finding out how much prison time Combs will face.
"I think the sentence is going to have a lot to say about this case and what the judge perceives about this case.
"If Sean Combs walks out of that courtroom with only serving one or two years, I think that's going to be a strong indication as to whether or not people think that justice was found in this case.
"If Sean Combs walks out of the building and he's sentenced to five to six years years, if he's sentenced to 10-15 years, the judge is [saying] 'I'm throwing the book at you', I think that's going to have another opinion as to whether or not this is justice.
"I think oftentimes it's not the conviction, but the sentence that sends the strongest message."
