Sean “Diddy” Combs went to jail on Tuesday to await trial, but what exactly was he arrested for and where does his current status lie?

The major move comes 10 months after persistent public accusations against the music mogul, who his lawyer says is innocent and he has pleaded not guilty.

Here’s what we know so far:

Why was ‘Diddy’ arrested?

Combs was jailed and held without bail in a federal human trafficking case, accused of running a sordid sex crimes empire protected by blackmail and shocking acts of violence.

The music mogul is accused of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, with charges dating back to 2008.

He is accused of inducing female victims and male sex workers to perform drug-fueled sexual acts that sometimes lasted days, which he called “Freak Offs.” The indictment also makes a passing reference to a videotaped assault on his former girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie.

The Bad Boy Records founder is accused of sexually abusing and physically assaulting women, and enlisting his personal assistants, security and house staff to help him cover it up. Prosecutors say he also tried to bribe and intimidate witnesses and victims into keeping quiet.

“Simply put, he is a serial abuser and a serial obstructionist,” Assistant District Attorney Emily Johnson told the court.

Prosecutors said in court papers that they have interviewed more than 50 victims and witnesses and expect the number to grow. They said they will use financial, travel and billing records, electronic records and communications, and videos of the “Freak Offs” to prove their case.

Combs was arrested in Manhattan on Monday, about six months after federal authorities searched his lavish homes in Los Angeles and Miami.

A conviction on each charge would carry a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, with the possibility of life imprisonment.

The indictment describes Combs as the head of a criminal organization that engaged or attempted to engage in sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for the purpose of prostitution, drug offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.

According to the indictment, Combs and his associates used his “power and prestige” to intimidate and lure women into his or her circle, “often under the pretense of a romantic relationship.”

It says he then used violence, threats and coercion to persuade the women to engage with male sex workers in “Freak Offs” — “elaborate and produced sex performances” that Combs organized and recorded, resulting in dozens of videos.

He kept them in line by buying and delivering drugs, controlling their careers, leveraging his financial support and using intimidation and violence, the indictment said. It said his employees facilitated “Freak Offs” by arranging tasks such as travel and hotel arrangements and providing them with supplies such as drugs and baby oil.

The events could last for days, and Combs and the victims were often given IVs to recover from the exertion and drug use, the complaint said.

During raids on Combs’ homes earlier this year, authorities seized narcotics, videos of the performances and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, prosecutors said. They said agents also seized firearms and ammunition, including three AR-15s with defaced serial numbers found in his Miami bedroom closet.

According to the indictment, Combs choked, pushed, punched and kicked people, causing injuries that often took days or weeks to heal. His employees and coworkers sometimes stopped victims from leaving or tracked down those who tried, the indictment said.

It alleges that Combs used explicit recordings as “collateral” to ensure the women’s continued obedience and silence. He also exerted control over victims by promising career advancement, offering financial support and threatening to withdraw it, dictating how they looked, monitoring their medical records and determining where they lived, the indictment said.

As the threat of criminal charges mounted, Combs and his associates pressured witnesses and victims to remain silent, offering bribes and telling false stories about what had happened, the indictment said.

In a criminal complaint, prosecutors accused Combs and an unidentified accomplice of kidnapping someone at gunpoint in December 2011 to facilitate a burglary at someone else’s home. Two weeks later, prosecutors wrote, Combs set fire to someone’s vehicle by cutting the convertible top and throwing a Molotov cocktail into it.

Prosecutors say it all happened behind the facade of Combs’ global music, lifestyle and clothing company.

In November, Ventura filed a lawsuit alleging that he beat and raped her for years. She accused Combs of forcing her and others to have unwanted sex in drug-fueled settings.

The lawsuit was settled in a day, but months later CNN aired footage from hotel security showing Combs punching and kicking Ventura and throwing her to the floor. After the video aired, Combs apologized, saying, “I was disgusting when I did it.”

The complaint references the attack, but does not name Ventura. It says Combs bribed a hotel security guard to keep him from saying anything about it.

Douglas Wigdor, an attorney for Ventura, declined to comment Tuesday.

What did Combs and his attorney say?

“Not guilty,” Combs told the court this week.

After U.S. Judge Robyn Tarnofsky denied him bail, Combs took a long drink from a water bottle and was then led out of the courtroom, turning to face family members in the audience.

“Mr. Combs is a fighter. He’s going to fight this to the end. He’s innocent,” his attorney, Marc Agnifilo, said after the trial. He plans to appeal the bail decision.

“Simply put, he is a serial abuser and a serial obstructionist,” Assistant District Attorney Emily Johnson told the court.

Agnifilo acknowledged that Combs was “not a perfect person” and said he had used drugs and been in “toxic relationships” but that he was receiving treatment and therapy.

“The evidence in this case is extremely problematic,” the lawyer told the court.

He maintained that the case arose from a long-term, consensual relationship that teetered amid infidelity. He did not name the woman, but the details matched those of Combs’ decades-long involvement with Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura.

The “Freak Offs,” Agnifilo claimed, were an extension of that relationship, not coercive.

“Is it sex trafficking? Not if everyone wants to be involved,” said Agnifilo, who argued that authorities were interfering in his client’s private life.

According to Combs’ attorney, his client was not supposed to have the guns in his bedroom closet. He said he hired a security company.

Combs and his attorneys denied similar allegations made by others in a series of lawsuits.

Who is Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs?

Combs is widely recognized as one of the most influential figures in hip hop.

Combs is one of the most prominent music managers, producers and artists in hip-hop. He has won three Grammys and has worked with artists such as Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil Kim, Faith Evans and 112. In 1993, he founded Bad Boy Records, the influential fashion line Sean John, a vodka brand and the Revolt TV network. In June of this year, he sold his interest in the latter company.

In the 2000s, he was a producer on the MTV reality series “Making the Band” and “Making His Band,” launching the careers of artists like the girl group Danity Kane while embodying a kind of spirited, “grandiose television personality,” notes A.D. Carson, an associate professor of hip-hop at the University of Virginia.

It’s been 17 years since Combs had a Top 10 hit — 2007’s “Last Night” with Keisha Cole peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. But his career and cultural contributions continue to be celebrated. In 2022, Combs received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BET Awards. Last year, he performed at the MTV VMAs and released his fifth studio album, “The Love Album: Off the Grid,” his first new album since 2006’s chart-topping “Press Play.”

“The Love Album” was nominated for Best Progressive R&B Album at the Grammy Awards. Combs was not present.

Where is Combs in prison?

Combs, 54, was sent Tuesday to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, a place described as “hell on earth” and an “ongoing tragedy.”

The facility, New York City’s only federal prison, has been plagued by problems since it opened in the 1990s. In recent years, conditions have been so bad that some judges have refused to send people there. It has also been home to a number of high-profile inmates, including R. Kelly, Ghislaine Maxwell and cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried.

In a statement, the federal Bureau of Prisons said: “We also take seriously addressing staffing and other challenges at MDC Brooklyn.” An agency team is working to fix the problems, including adding permanent prison and medical staff, clearing more than 700 backlogged maintenance requests and responding to concerns from judges.

A judge on Wednesday denied a request by Combs’ lawyers to let him await trial under house arrest at his $48 million mansion on an island in Miami Beach, Florida.

Combs’ attorneys argued in filings seeking his release that the Metropolitan Detention Center is not appropriate for pretrial detention. They cited recent inmate deaths and concerns shared by judges that the jail is not a place to hold someone.

Asked whether it was wise to lock up a high-profile inmate like Combs, especially in light of Epstein’s 2019 death, Manhattan-based U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “We have concerns about the safety of anyone who is being held pre-trial.”

“I see no connection whatsoever between Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide and what may or may not happen to other defendants while they are in custody,” he added.

Combs’ attorney said Wednesday that the rapper is being held in the special housing unit at MDC Brooklyn, which provides an extra layer of security but could make preparing for trial more difficult. He asked that Combs be transferred to a prison in New Jersey, but a judge said that would be up to the Bureau of Prisons to decide.