Diddy accused of sexual assault by 'I Want to Work for Diddy' contestant amid 4 new lawsuits

Sean "Diddy" Combs is facing four new lawsuits, as a one-time legal window allowing victims to sue retroactively in New York ends.

The allegations, which stretch from the mid-'90s to the mid-2000s, echo claims made in various other civil suits accusing Combs of rape and sexual assault. The disgraced music mogul is also facing criminal charges in a federal racketeering and sexual abuse case, with trial set for May 5.

Three women and one man, in separate legal actions Thursday that disclose each of their names, allege that Combs engaged in sexual acts without their consent, either through force or after spiking their drinks. The alleged victims include a minor as well as a former contestant on one of Combs' reality shows.

All four lawsuits are filed under the Gender Motivated Violence Protection Act (GMVA) and come as the two-year look-back window that temporarily extended its statute of limitations closes. The policy, which was opened Jan. 9, 2022, closes Friday.

These at-the-buzzer actions represent just one small dot in a constellation of legal troubles facing Combs.

"This is yet another example of false claims being filed against Mr. Combs. No matter how many lawsuits are filed, it won’t change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone —man or woman, adult or minor. We live in a world where anyone can file a lawsuit for any reason," lawyers for the embattled producer said in a revised statement regarding the GMVA window Friday to USA TODAY.

"With the deadline for New York’s Gender-Motivated Violence Act expiring tomorrow, it’s clear that opportunists are rushing to file last-minute, meritless claims. Mr. Combs remains confident he will prevail in court," the statement continued.

USA TODAY has reached out to lawyers for all four alleged victims for comment.

Diddy VH1 reality show contestant, 16-year-old boy both allege assault

Justin Gooch, a 16-year-old living with his grandparents in New Jersey, claims that he was assaulted in the late '90s by Combs in a Manhattan nightclub bathroom.

Lawyers for Gooch say in January 1999 he went clubbing with friends in New York City, where he met Combs at The Tunnel in Chelsea. The filing alleges Combs offered him ecstasy and alcohol, then guided him to the bathroom to continue the drug use.

After entering the stall, Combs allegedly pushed Gooch down, pulled his hair and sexually assaulted him. Then, the filing claims, the producer said to Gooch: "That wasn't so bad was it?"

Gooch, who allegedly left immediately, did not tell his grandparent but did inform his friends.

Another suit names Combs and VH1, a cable TV network behind several reality TV programs including "I Want to Work for Diddy." The reality show, which ran for two seasons in 2008, is at the center of alleged victim Kendra Haffoney's sexual assault claims.

Haffoney was a contestant on the show's first season and claims in a new filing that after moving to New York to begin filming, she was drugged and assaulted by Combs at a 2007 party.

At the party, the filing says Combs offered Haffoney a drink, which made her feel lightheaded, and guided her to perform oral sex on him.

"(Haffoney) felt pressured and uncomfortable considering the environment, but as the drugs and alcohol she had been plied with took control, and the power-dynamics of the situation, she was increasingly powerless to resist."

The suit claims she lost consciousness, and woke up at the SoHo filming location for the show with Combs at the foot of her bed. "(Haffoney) knew she had been sexually assaulted, raped, but did not know what to say or who to speak with, was ashamed, confused, degraded, humiliated, and shocked, so she suffered in silence and continued on the show."

After traveling to Los Angeles for more filming, the filing alleges Combs took an interest in her, provoking "a complex web of emotions," but that his misconduct continued in an unspecified way.

Diddy faces onslaught of new lawsuits as NYC legal window closes

Another suit, brought on behalf of Aristalia Benitez, claims that in 1995 while she was a sophomore at New York University, Combs sexually assaulted her while she was unconscious.

Benitez, 20 at the time, was working at Peppe Hilfiger, the sister brand to Tommy Hilfiger run by his brother Andy, the suit claims. One night, Andy Hilfiger, who had introduced her to Combs, invited her to a party in lower Manhattan, where she accepted a non-alcoholic beverage from the music producer after telling him she didn't drink, the filing says.

The suit alleges the night took a turn when Combs began to grope Benitez as she pushed him away and voiced non-consent. Claiming that the drink was laced with GHB, a drug referenced throughout Combs' various other legal troubles, the filing says Benitez lost consciousness but woke up in a cab on the way back to her dorm in gym clothes she brought with her to the party but had not been wearing.

Her groin was painful and sore and her underwear was soaked, the filing claims.

That same loss of consciousness is described in a separate suit, brought by Leslie Cockrell, who claims she was assaulted by Combs at a Hamptons party she attended thrown by the music mogul in the summer of 1999.

Cockrell, then 24, ran a scouting business where she was charged with finding local artists and connecting them with producers. Through her work she met Jay Stone, an artist with whom she traveled to Combs' party, according to the filing.

After splitting up with Stone and the party and allegedly having her phone taken by security, Cockrell claims Combs approached and gave a tour of the house where, the suit alleges, there were people engaging in "sexual activities."

After her second drink, Cockrell began to feel light-headed, which the suit alleges was due to her drink being spiked with GHB. When she went to lie down, the filing claims Combs entered the room with another man naked and began masturbating and touching her without consent.

"She felt like she was having an out-of-body experience," the filing reads, claiming she faded in and out of consciousness, but felt him assault her and woke up in a car outside the property with a sore body and face, as if she had been beaten.

The filing alleges the security guard who drove her home told her to accept what had happened and be grateful Combs had chosen her.

"He told her that she was a nobody and to not tell anyone what happened," the suit claims. "(Crockell) was terrified." While she shared the incident with a friend, who encouraged her to tell police, lawyers for Crockell say she was too frightened.