Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, Cassie reach settlement one day after she filed explosive lawsuit alleging rape, physical abuse
Both sides “resolved the claims … to their mutual satisfaction,” Cassie’s lawyer announced without disclosing the terms of the settlement.
“I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control. I want to thank my family, fans and lawyers for their unwavering support,” Cassie, whose full name is Casandra Ventura, wrote in a statement.
Combs, 54, added in his own statement: “We have decided to resolve this matter amicably. I wish Cassie and her family all the best.”
Ventura had alleged in the short-lived suit that Combs regularly fed her drugs and alcohol, forced her to have sex with male prostitutes and viciously raped and beat her shortly after meeting her in 2005 until 2018.
The “Me & U” singer claimed the public on-and-off-again relationship she once called “a completely inspiring experience” was brutally sinister below the surface.
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What we know about the French senator accused
of drugging an MP in attempted sex assault
French Senator Joël Guerriau is facing preliminary charges of drugging a fellow lawmaker with the intent to commit “rape or sexual assault”, prosecutors confirmed Friday, in a case that has shocked France. Guerriau was suspended from both his Horizons party and his Senate group on Saturday.
The 66-year-old senator from western France was arrested at his Paris home on Thursday over the alleged attempted assault of Sandrine Josso, 48, a member of the lower-house National Assembly. He is accused of drugging the MP by spiking her drink after he invited her to his home.
Guerriau was placed under judicial supervision on Friday pending the outcome of the investigation, restricting his freedom of movement. Prosecutors said the two politicians were long-standing acquaintances but were not in a relationship.
Guerriau’s centre-right party Horizons, which is allied to President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party, said on Saturday it had suspended the senator “with immediate effect” and initiated disciplinary proceedings “that could lead to his permanent exclusion”.
His Senate group Les Indépendants, which includes senators from Horizons and other centre-right parties, announced it was taking the same steps in a statement shortly after.
What has Guerriau been charged with?
Guerriau is facing preliminary charges of “administering to a person, without their knowledge, a substance likely to impair their discernment or control over their actions in order to commit rape or sexual assault”, according to the Paris public prosecutor's office.
His lawyer Rémi-Pierre Drai said he denies the charge. Guerriau was also charged with possessing drugs, Drai added.
The senator was arrested after Josso filed a legal complaint. He was detained under rules of “flagrancy”, which grant investigators special powers – such as overriding parliamentary immunity – when the suspect is caught in the act or shortly thereafter. Searches were carried out at Guerriau’s office and also at his home, where investigators found ecstasy, a potent drug that causes both stimulant and hallucinogenic effects.
Guerriau and the alleged victim were jointly questioned, in their lawyers’ presence, for nearly two hours on Friday, a common practice in France known as a "confrontation". After his release from police custody, the senator was placed under judicial supervision and banned from contacting Josso or any witnesses.
Under French law, preliminary charges mean that the investigating magistrates have strong reason to suspect wrongdoing but need more time to determine whether to send a case to trial. Charges levelled at Guerriau carry a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment and a €75,000 fine.
What do we know about the incident?
Josso told investigators she felt ill after having a drink on Tuesday night at the senator’s Paris apartment, prosecutors said. According to French broadcaster BFMTV, which cited sources close to the investigation, the MP told police that the two had initially agreed to meet at a restaurant but that Guerriau suggested they dine at his home instead.
Her lawyer, Julia Minkowski, told AFP that her client felt unwell after drinking a glass of champagne and had seen the senator “grabbing a small plastic bag containing something white in a drawer in his kitchen”. Josso then realised that he was trying to drug her without her knowledge, the counsel added.
“She had to deploy monumental physical and intellectual forces to overcome her terror and extricate herself at the last minute from this ambush," Minkowski said, adding that her client was “in a state of shock”.
Josso was admitted to hospital for tests, which revealed the presence of ecstasy in her system. The lawmaker subsequently lodged a complaint.
Saskatchewan MLA charged with communicating to obtain sexual services
A Saskatchewan MLA has been stripped of his duties after he was charged with obtaining sexual services for consideration according to an email release from the province.
Ryan Domotor, MLA for Cutknife – Turtleford was arrested by Regina police at a business Thursday afternoon and charged for communicating for the purposes of procuring sex.
According to the Canadian Press, Domotor was at the legislature a few hours before his arrest, speaking to a motion about the province’s disagreement with Ottawa’s climate policies.
He was one of 16 people arrested by Regina’s vice unit during a project to fight sexual exploitation.
Domotor has been kicked out of government caucus and removed of all government appointments and responsibilities.
Premier Scott Moe said he took immediate action after learning about the charge.
“Those in public office should be working to support vulnerable women, not exploit them,” Moe said. “There is absolutely no place in our government, nor frankly in the Assembly, for someone who has been charged with such a crime.”
Domotor was elected in the Cut Knife-Turtleford constituency in the 2020 provincial election.
He was the Chief Administrative Officer for the R.M. of Mervin from 1994 to 2020, served 12 years on Turtleford’s town council, and 17 years as the area Coroner.
Domotor was also a participating board member of the Turtleford and District Co-op Association.
According to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan’s website, he previously served as a member of the Standing Committee on Human Services and was recently appointed to the cabinet Committee on the Economy.
Global News has reached out to Domotor’s constituency office.
He will make his first appearance in Regina Provincial Court on Jan. 4.
U of A fires director of Sexual Assault Centre
for signing letter questioning attacks on Israeli women
The University of Alberta has fired Samantha Pearson, the director of the Sexual Assault Centre after she signed an open letter penned by ousted Ontario MPP Sarah Jama that calls into question whether Israeli women were subjected to rape and sexual violence during a Hamas attack on Oct. 7.
Jama, an Independent MPP from Hamilton, Ont., was the letter’s first signatory. She was booted from the NDP caucus last month after making controversial comments in support of Palestinians.
Pearson signed the letter on behalf of the University of Alberta Sexual Assault Centre.
In a statement Saturday, the university’s president and vice-chancellor Bill Flanagan said: “I want to be clear that the former employee’s personal views and opinions do not in any way represent those of the University of Alberta.”
“The University of Alberta stands firmly and unequivocally against discrimination and hatred on the basis of religion, race, ethnicity, national origin, and other protected categories. We recognize the historical and ongoing harms of antisemitism and commit to doing all we can as a university to advance a world free of prejudice and discrimination,” Flanagan said.
The open letter states the accusations that Palestinians were guilty of sexual violence were “unverified.”
Which, of course, is untrue! There were verified by Hamas' own helmet cams that recorded the incidents an transmitted them live to the families of their victims.
Premier Danielle Smith also released a statement on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter supporting the university’s decision. “I unequivocally agree with The University of Alberta’s decision to dismiss the director. All spaces including university campuses need to be safe for all. Anti-semitism of any kind must not be tolerated.”
The university has appointed a new interim director of the Sexual Assault Centre.
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