Federal Prosecutors Have Lost Contact With Key Witness In Diddy Trial

Prosecutors admit they have not heard from 'Victim-3,' who is expected to give testimony against the former Bad Boy executive

Federal prosecutors are facing a setback before opening arguments in the Diddy trial. They have reportedly lost contact with a key witness against the entertainment mogul.

According to Deadline, the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York has not heard from a witness identified as Victim-3 (to protect her real name from public scrutiny) who is expected to detail her experience with Diddy with claims of being sexually exploited by him. Law enforcement sources have indicated to the media outlet that the alleged victim has possibly made herself unavailable out of fear for her safety, it’s been speculated.

There is also a chance that defense attorneys may ask for a mistrial or a delay based on the theory that if one of the prosecution’s witnesses is unavailable, it changes their strategy. The issue is that since she is one of the main witnesses to accuse the No Way Out producer of sexual assault and other crimes, if she may not testify, they would have to change how they defend the case, and it may take some time to do so.

The likelihood of Victim-3 not appearing was mentioned to the judge on May 9 in court during jury selection. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey assured Judge Arun Subramanian that the prosecution’s office would inform the judge by the end of the day if the alleged victim had been contacted and would appear in court. There has been no indication on the court docket that confirms or denies that the assurance took place.

After learning of the status of Victim-3, Judge Subramanian, after successfully getting the jury size of 150 down to 43, voiced concerns about the potential loss of the alleged victim. He wanted “some certainty that you’re not going to have to re-do jury selection.”

Diddy has been charged with two counts of sex trafficking, two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, and one count of racketeering. The mogul has pleaded not guilty after denying that the crimes took place.