Sean "Diddy" Combs arrives at the BET Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on June 26, 2022. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP File)

Editor’s note: This article contains graphic allegations of rape that could be upsetting for some readers.

Named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by a woman who alleges the rapper Diddy raped her in 2018, Maui’s chief of police says the allegations against him are lies and he has no ties to any of the people mentioned in the suit.

“Chief Pelletier has no connections whatsoever to any individuals named in the lawsuit,” reads a statement issued earlier this week by the Maui Police Department. “The allegations suggesting his involvement are entirely unfounded. We are confident that the evidence will demonstrate these claims to be false and will expose those who are deliberately trying to manipulate the legal system to spread misleading narratives.”

The lawsuit was filed by attorneys representing Ashley Parham and two unnamed plaintiffs in California. The suit was amended on March 7 and names Sean “Diddy” Combs as a defendant alongside NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., comedian Drew Desbordes, better known as “Druski,” Diddy’s mom Janice Combs and Maui Police Chief John Pelletier, among others.

At the time the suit says Parham was raped, Pelletier was a captain with the Las Vegas Police Department. He was sworn in as Maui County’s chief of police in December 2021.

Tupac’s murder

The lawsuit lists three plaintiffs — Parham and an unnamed mother and son — seeking unspecified damages from 15 defendants while alleging a horrific gang rape led by Diddy involving Beckham Jr., Druski and another one of Diddy’s friends named Shane Pearce. Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges a subsequent coverup by people in Diddy’s orbit, as well as Pelletier and others.

According to the 87-page lawsuit, Parham believes Pearce set her up to be raped by Diddy and three other men because she made a comment in 2018 about Diddy being responsible for the murder of Tupac Shakur, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in 1996.

The lawsuit says Parham met Pearce in February 2018 when he came to her rescue after an altercation with another man at a bar. Outside the bar and wanting to show off his famous friend, Pearce allegedly got Diddy on a Facetime call and flashed his phone to others outside the bar, according to the suit.

Parham ignored Diddy and told Pearce she was not impressed because she believed Diddy had something to do with Tupac’s murder, according to the suit. The lawsuit says Diddy heard what Parham said and replied that she would “pay” for her statement about Tupac’s murder and overall dismissal of him.

At that point, the lawsuit skips ahead to March 23, 2018, when Pearce allegedly invited Parham to his apartment on the lower floor of a home in Orinda, California, to help him with his cancer medications because he told her he was weak and unable to open his meds.

When Parham arrived to help Pearce, Pearce allegedly told Parham he wanted to give her a ride in his new car and they went for a short drive. When they returned, Pearce left the apartment’s door ajar saying it had a problem and wouldn’t close completely.

After being offered and given a glass of water, Parham began to watch a movie with Pearce.

About 10 minutes after returning from their drive, Diddy arrived at the home in a grand “ready to party” manner, coming through the main entrance, not the backyard entrance, according to the lawsuit.

The suit says he was accompanied by his bodyguard Big Homie CC and Kristina Khorram, described as Diddy’s right-hand woman, as well as employee Brandi Cunningham, Beckham Jr. and Diddy’s driver, who remained outside and in his vehicle for the duration of the alleged assault.

Distrubing allegations

The lawsuit says Diddy began the attack on Parham by taunting her, saying she had thought she would never see him in person and that he had “caught” her and was going to make her “pay” for her statement about Tupac.

The lawsuit says Diddy advanced toward Parham, who was sitting on Pearce’s bed, with a knife in his hand, and he held it to the right side of Parham’s face as he threatened to give her a “Glasgow smile” in retaliation for her comments.

The suit says Khorram told Diddy she did not think that cutting Parham’s face would be advantageous to their potential clients whom they could sell Parham to for sex. The lawsuit adds that Khorram threatened Parham that they could ship her off anywhere in the world and she would never see her family or anyone she knew ever again.

According to the lawsuit, Pearce and Diddy then removed Parham’s clothes, and Diddy retrieved a bottle of an unknown liquid from a large fanny pack. The suit says Parham worried the liquid could be acidic, but it turned out to be some kind of oil or lubricant and Diddy squirted it all over her naked body.

Diddy then allegedly told Khorram to insert what looked like a syringe from sterile packaging into Parham’s vagina. The suit says Khorram did as she was told with Cunningham’s help before saying the “IUD” had prematurely been released from its packaging.

Upset, Diddy took the “syringe” from Khorram and tried inserting it in Parham’s vagina himself, according to the lawsuit. Diddy and Khorram then began to argue as Khorram said the IUD couldn’t be inserted in Parham’s vagina effectively.

The suit says that after some time, Diddy heeded Khorram’s advice and removed the syringe from Parham’s vagina and handed it to Khorram. At that point, Cunningham and Khorram left the room, leaving Parham alone with Diddy, Pearce, Druski and Beckham Jr..

The lawsuit alleges that Diddy then picked up a television remote that was near Parham and violently inserted it into her vagina while saying her life was in his hands and he could “take her” if he wanted and she would never be seen again.

Beckham Jr. and Druski

The lawsuit says Parham began crying hysterically as the assault continued, both due to the threats and the physical pain she felt.

However, the attack allegedly continued with Diddy telling Pearce to turn Parham onto her stomach as Diddy was “seemingly tired of hearing (Parham’s) blood curdling cries” and told Pearce to put a pillow over Parham’s head so he wouldn’t have to see her face or hear her cries.

The lawsuit says Pearce followed instructions then and again when Diddy told him to anally rape Parham.

The lawsuit says Diddy anally raped Parham after Pearce and then another man later determined to be Beckham Jr. joined Diddy and Pearce by taking a turn anally raping Parham himself.

The lawsuit says that after Parham had been raped by Pearce, Diddy and Beckham Jr., Diddy told Druski to rape Parham. However, instead of immediately raping Parham, Druski allegedly doused her with more oil or lubricant and then jumped on top of her naked body, “treating it like a slip and slide and knocking the wind out of (her) due to his enormous size.”

The lawsuit says Druski then raped Parham vaginally while Diddy sat in a chair near the bed masturbating as he recorded it.

The lawsuit says Parham’s body became more and more limp over the course of the violent rape until eventually she had no control over her body and could not move. After Druski raped Parham, Khorram allegedly entered the room to examine Parham.

The suit says Khorram examined Parham to see if she needed an IV fluid, though Parham cannot be certain if she was given an IV. Khorram then opened a bag different than the one Diddy removed the oil from with several medicine bottles, IV fluid bags and other unidentifiable powder-like drugs in it.

Khorram allegedly removed a pill from one of the medicine bottles and gave it to Diddy, who put the pill into Parham’s mouth and forced her to swallow it.

The lawsuit says that after the assault, Diddy went outside with Pearce, Khorram, Druski and Beckham Jr. where they smoked marijuana and cigarettes.

An alleged kidnapping

The lawsuit says the rape was witnessed by two other people — a mother and her son named as Jane and John Doe — who were at Pearce’s home during the attack because Pelletier had kidnapped them at gunpoint.

According to the lawsuit, the mother and son were taken from their Las Vegas home as they walked to their vehicle with Pelletier approaching them, putting a gun to the son’s back and telling him to get into a black SUV with Ruben Valdez.

Pelletier allegedly told the son he was being extradited because he had warrants for his arrest in California even though neither the son nor his mother had any warrants or convictions. The plaintiffs demanded to be shown the warrants, but Pelletier refused and threatened to shoot them if they protested further.

The lawsuit says the two unnamed plaintiffs did not know Pelletier or Valdez but had met Diddy through their connections in the music industry, as the son was a previous plaintiff against Michael Jackson for sexual assault as a minor.

Pelletier and Valdez allegedly took the mother and son to what they believed to be Pelletier’s home in Las Vegas. Inside the home, the mother and son were forced to sit on the living room couch and were physically restrained.

The lawsuit says the mother and son demanded to speak to their attorney but their demands were refused, ignored or met with threats of violence, and it became obvious to the mother and son that Pelletier was “acting outside the color of law.”

At some point thereafter, the mother and son were ordered to get into the back of a large black SUV, and a man identified as Matias Gonzalez was given the keys to the mother and son’s vehicle, also an SUV, to follow behind the other SUV.

The lawsuit did not say when or how Gonzalez arrived at the home or who allegedly drove the mother and son’s vehicle from outside their home to what they believed to be Pelletier’s house.

The suit says the mother and son noticed Gonzalez and Pelletier had a “list of safe houses which they could allow parties a safe respite, undetected.”

“Defendant Pelletier appeared to be in charge and he and Defendant Valdez were both giving out orders to the other co-conspirator Defendants,” according to the lawsuit.

It continues by saying the mother and son overheard repeated conversation by Pelletier and others “about following protocol” while they were being kidnapped and driven around to different locations.

“It was apparent to Plaintiffs this was a professional operation/syndicate,” the lawsuit reads.

The mother and son were allegedly taken to a handful of locations over an undefined amount of time that was described as hours.

A long ordeal

While being driven across state lines, the mother and son were given water to drink, which they believe had been drugged. Valdez allegedly demanded that they drink the water, but they refused and faked consumption.

The lawsuit says that during the SUV rides, the mother and son were forced to listen to devices similar to those associated with Khorram’s nonprofit organization, Music Beats Hearts, to prevent the mother and son from eavesdropping on the defendants’ conversations.

On the Music Beats Hearts website, Khorram is listed as the nonprofit’s director of special events.

The lawsuit says the mother and son were then taken to the Beacon Grand Hotel (Sir Francis Drake) where Pearce worked as a manager. They entered the hotel through what appeared to be a side door escorted by Valdez, Pelletier and Gonzalez. Pelletier allegedly told Valdez and Gonzalez he would stay at a different hotel nearby, so it wouldn’t be linked to him.

Once inside the hotel room, the mother and son were beaten and drugged by Valdez and Gonzalez despite pleading for mercy.

The suit says Valdez and Gonzalez instructed the mother and son to sign paperwork at gunpoint. When the plaintiffs refused, Gonzalez allegedly pistol whipped them on the back of their heads.

The suit alleges that Gonzalez eventually gave the mother and son a drink that caused them to pass out. The two spent the night at the hotel with Gonzalez and Valdez taking turns keeping watch.

The next morning, the plaintiffs were restrained and bound by their hands in front. They were placed into a vehicle with two other defendants in the lawsuit, Helena Harris-Scott and Jacquelyn “Jaguar” Wright, and driven to the location where Parham was being assaulted, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit says the mother and son knew Harris-Scott from her previous Michael Jackson lawsuits and had met before with Harris-Scott at her home in West Hollywood to determine the credibility of her claims and if they were similar in nature to the son’s.

The lawsuit says the mother and son had reported Harris-Scott multiple times to the L.A. and Orange County FBI field offices for her role in the crime syndicate with Pelletier, Valdez and other individuals.

Inside the apartment

Once inside Pearce’s apartment, the mother and son were brought into the kitchen where they were watched by Gonzalez. The mother and son could hear other people inside the home, and tried to listen to what was happening and heard a woman’s scream, according to the lawsuit.

Eventually, the mother and son were led deeper into the home where they encountered more individuals including Diddy.

The lawsuit says the mother and son saw several people gathered around a bed while Gonzalez and Valdez stood outer guard. Jaguar and Helena also entered the residence, and Jaguar allegedly told the mother and son, “He wants something you have. If I were you, I’d figure out what it is really fast,” referring to Diddy.

According to the lawsuit, the mother and son witnessed Parham having the IUD forcefully placed in her vagina and heard Khorram make a remark about how Parham would not need an IUD because of her age.

“While hearing Plaintiff Parham scream in agony during the forced IUD insertion Plaintiff Jane Doe yelled, ‘stop hurting her!’ according to the lawsuit. However, Diddy told Valdez to “shut her up,” and Valdez hit the mother with the handle of his firearm.

The lawsuit also says the son witnessed Parham being assaulted with the remote, and when he tried to say something, he was told to shut up or they would put the remote in him next.

The lawsuit says the mother and son heard Khorram tell Diddy and Druski that she needed to keep the mother and son sufficiently drugged up.

According to the lawsuit, the mother and son either individually or together witnessed Diddy, Druski and Beckham rape Parham. The lawsuit also says the son remembers Beckham Jr. because he was in great shape, especially in comparison to Diddy and Druski.

The lawsuit says the mother was out of the son’s sight for a period of time and was being sexually assaulted by Valdez in another room during this time.

The lawsuit further alleges Diddy tried to force the son to also rape Parham but he refused. Diddy allegedly told his co-conspirators to throw the son into the wall several times to get the son to comply, but the son never did.

At that point, Diddy told the group to grab the son’s genitals violently in an effort to punish him for not participating in the gang rape. The suit says the son remembers Big Homie CC saying he was going to look for a pair of pliers to further torture the son.

According to the lawsuit, the son believes Diddy wanted him to rape Parham so they could frame him if Parham reported the assault.

Trying to escape

The lawsuit says that at some point after Diddy, Pearce, Druski, Beckham Jr., Khorram and others left room, the son and mother were left alone with an unconscious Parham.

“Plaintiffs were crying after observing the assault upon Plaintiff Parham and began to realize this was their next chance to devise a plan for escape,” the lawsuit says.

Parham eventually came to, and the mother and son told her they could not find an exit to escape and needed her help otherwise they would all be killed.

Parham agreed to help in an escape, and the mother and son told Parham they had found a knife and that her assailants were in the backyard, which was believed to be the best way to exit the apartment for their escape.

Parham then exited the home with the knife concealed and went into the backyard. Shortly thereafter, Khorram returned and took the mother to the balcony, leaving her son alone in the apartment.

While on the balcony, Khorram allegedly demanded the mother sign documents that were believed to be related to claims the mother and son had against Michael Jackson’s estate.

During this interaction, a gunshot rang out from the backyard causing everyone to run that way.

Upon reaching the backyard, the son saw Parham with the knife looking as if she was about to

stab Diddy and he yelled out “Do it, stab him!” but Parham hesitated.

The lawsuit says the mother and son were briefly reunited, and the son told his mother now was their opportunity to escape.

Following Parham, the mother and son ran out the back gate onto the street and in the opposite direction of Parham. They arrived at the house next door and banged on the door yelling for help. The wife came out and said that she and her husband couldn’t help.

The suit says the mother and son were able to try to hide until they saw a police officer report to the location and then they tried to speak with the officer.

However, before the mother and son could speak to the local officer, Pelletier appeared and told the responding officer a federal investigation was ongoing and not to interfere, according to the lawsuit.

Pelletier allegedly also told the responding officer to turn off his body camera and that he was working on a case for drug trafficking, had the house under surveillance and would report later to the local precinct. Pelletier allegedly referred to the mother, son and Parham as suspects and said they were homeless.

When the mother and son tried to refute Pelletier’s statements, they were threatened and told to shut up and remain quiet, according to the lawsuit.

Gonzalez then allegedly removed the mother and son from the interaction with Pelletier and the responding officer and placed the two in another vehicle that was hard to see due to the darkness.

The lawsuit says the mother pleaded with Gonzalez to let them go and promised she would not tell anyone. In a last-ditch effort, the mother told Gonzalez she overheard Jaguar and Harris-Scott saying they were not going to pay him because there was not enough money.

Gonzalez then exited the vehicle and went to another vehicle with Jaguar and Harris-Scott inside and confronted them about what the mother had said. Gonzalez then returned to the vehicle where the mother and son were being held and released them.

Once freed, the mother and son asked another commuter where the nearest police station was, as they did not have any phones and their vehicle did not have GPS. They were given instructions on how to proceed to the police station.

Plaintiffs arrived at the police station in Orinda, California, and the son walked into the police station with the intention of filing a report. However, he remembered overhearing conversations from the defendants that if he or his mom ever reported the incident, they would be deemed crazy and unbelievable, according to the lawsuit.

The son was also concerned about the exchange with the responding officer outside the apartment and how he refused to listen to his pleas. As a result, the son only briefly spoke to someone at the front desk about filing a police report and took a business card.

Diddy stabbed

The lawsuit says that after Parham regained her bodily functions, she started looking for her clothes and her purse that contained her keys and cell phone, but she could not find them anywhere in the room or the apartment.

Instead, Parham was only able to find an oversized T-shirt on the floor, which she put on to cover her naked body. The lawsuit adds that Parham noticed a black condom wrapper on the floor of the bedroom and assumed it had been used by one of the defendants during the rape.

With the assistance of the mother and son, Parham also found a knife and then headed to the backyard where the Diddy and others were smoking, as that was the only way to exit the premises and get back onto the street, according to the lawsuit.

In the backyard, Parham sat down on a makeshift seat, and Diddy noticed her presence and remarked that he was surprised she was able to walk because he had given her “enough drugs to take out a horse,” the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit says Diddy made further comments to Parham in a jovial, friendly manner asking why they hadn’t “partied” together before because it was “so much fun.” The suit says Parham replied she did not “party” with Diddy and that he had raped her.

According to the lawsuit, Diddy did not like Parham’s response and offered her money while telling her to say the rape was consensual and she was a sex worker. This enraged Parham, who yelled at Diddy that her rape was not consensual, and she refused to take any money from him.

Diddy then allegedly told Parham no one would ever believe she had been raped by him, and if she did tell anyone, they would harm her family.

The lawsuit says Big Homie CC also showed Parham his phone showing video that looked as if someone was outside of Parham’s estranged sister’s residence streaming it to Big Homie CC’s phone.

According to the lawsuit, Diddy then called his mother in an effort to further convince Parham not to report her assault, and Janice Combs allegedly yelled at Parham to not hurt her son. Additionally, Diddy allegedly told Parham he had gotten off for bigger crimes before and referred to Tupac again.

The lawsuit says Big Homie CC took issue with Diddy’s remarks and pulled a gun on Diddy while asking him to repeat what he said in reference to Tupac.

As the two exchanged words, Big Homie CC advanced toward Diddy while questioning him over the comments about Tupac, according to the suit.

The lawsuit says a neighbor across the street came outside and peered into the backyard and asked what all the commotion was about, and Big Homie CC then pointed the gun at the neighbor and told him to mind his business.

Big Homie CC then turned the gun back on Diddy, and Parham, who was not far behind Big Homie CC, tried to grab his gun. The gun then went off, hitting a hill behind Pearce’s apartment.

The lawsuit says Diddy ran up a set of stone stairs following the gunshot, and Parham chased after him. Parham caught up to Diddy and pushed him from behind while on the stone stairs outside, causing Diddy to fall with his back to Parham.

Parham then raised the knife, which she had concealed in the oversized T-shirt, with the intent of driving it into Diddy’s back, but he turned around and began pleading for his life, causing Parham to hesitate, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit says Parham then ran down the outdoor stone staircase back out to the backyard to escape. Diddy chased Parham down the stairs and tried to push her, but Parham was already at the bottom of the stairs with solid footing and swung the knife at Diddy, grazing his abdomen.

Hearing the commotion, Khorram and Brandi emerged, and Khorram then began administering first aid to Diddy for the injuries caused by Parham.

At the same time, Parham tried to make a quick dash for the exit but was thwarted by another unnamed defendant. After a period of time, Parham was able to abscond from the unnamed defendant, who allegedly told her he was an undercover police officer, and she ran down the street yelling for someone to call the police.

According to the lawsuit, the same neighbor emerged again from his home asking what was happening. Just as Parham was trying to answer him, gunshots were fired in Parham’s direction.

Parham and the neighbor fled to a nearby car to take cover. Parham then heard an SUV screeching its tires and speeding away from the residence. Parham then entered the home of the neighbor, who informed her that he had already called police.

Allegations of a coverup

Shortly thereafter, Pelletier allegedly arrived at the neighbor’s home posing as someone from the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Department.

Believing Pelletier was a local sheriff, Parham told him she had been violently gang raped by Diddy and others and that she did not have her clothes, phone, purse, keys or phone, according to the lawsuit.

Pelletier allegedly told Parham and the neighbor that police had received several noise complaints prior to the neighbor’s call and instructed Parham to find a way to get home.

The lawsuit says the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Department has confirmed a police report was made that night by Parham, but the department has refused to release any information related to the complaint on the night in question.

According to the lawsuit, Parham saw Pelletier hand something to the neighbor in what looked to be an envelope as Pelletier exited the neighbor’s home. The neighbor went to a nearby room and quickly returned empty-handed, and Parham believes the envelope contained cash.

The neighbor offered to let Parham sleep on his couch until she could figure out a way to get her possessions and get home, but Parham declined, still feeling uneasy and unsure about the exchange with police and only remained at the neighbor’s residence for a short period of time once Pelletier had left.

The lawsuit says Parham then went back to Pearce’s apartment where she found the door open and her clothes readily accessible. Pearce then emerged as if nothing had transpired and offered for Parham to stay at his residence while she “slept it off.”

Parham asked for her purse and her keys, but Pearce told her she shouldn’t leave in her condition and Parham, who was catatonic and in a state of shock and disbelief, stayed at Pearce’s home while he left.

Later that morning, Pearce returned to the residence, woke Parham up and finally gave her back her purse, cell phone and keys, and Parham returned home in a daze trying to make sense out of what had happened to her, according to the lawsuit.

The suit adds that seemingly mere days, maybe even the day before the rape, Pearce “had miraculously began driving a new car.” Parham believes this was his payment from Diddy for setting her up to be raped.

Documentation

On March 26, 2018, Parham contacted her primary care doctor and asked for an HIV and STD test in fear of possibly having contracted a disease from the rape.

She also went to the hospital where several tests on her were conducted including a rape kit, ultrasound and x-rays. Additionally, Parham was given IV fluids to stabilize her vitals as she was in a severely weakened state.

The lawsuit says that while at the hospital, Parham told medical care providers about the assault, and they contacted Walnut Creek Police, who showed up at Parham’s hospital room and took a statement regarding her assault.

According to the lawsuit, Parham only told Walnut Creek Police about the assault from Pearce and a John Doe, but she believes her statements were captured by police body camera footage.

The suit says Parham filed a report with the Orinda Police Department on April 17, 2018, but was too afraid to name Diddy as one of her assailants. During this report, Parham provided her clothing to the police from the night of the assault but they only retained her underwear.

Parham also sought assistance from therapists in May 2018, one of which tried to have her therapy appointments covered by a victim’s compensation fund, but the lawsuit says that request was rejected because Parham was told no law enforcement agency had opened an active investigation into any of her reports.

The lawsuit says Parham has asked police for a copy of her report from the Walnut Creek Police Department, but was provided a letter on July 19, 2018, from the Walnut Creek Police Department stating it was “unable to furnish this information as it is confidential and not subject to public release.”

Pushing back on the allegations

Like Pelletier, Beckham and Druski have also issued statements saying the accusations in the suit are untrue.

“This allegation is a fabricated lie,” Druski posted on X. “I wasn’t a public figure in 2018 — I was broke living with my mom without any connections to the entertainment industry at the time of this allegation, so the inclusion of my name is truly outlandish.”

Pelletier also pointed out that, in 2018 while serving as a captain in Las Vegas, he was honored by the Rape Crisis Center for “his exceptional leadership and commitment to community safety, specifically through his role as a champion of the Stay S.A.F.E. program dedicated to sexual assault prevention.”

“These baseless allegations not only harm Chief Pelletier but also show a lack of respect for victims of abuse, whose voices deserve to be heard and supported with compassion and integrity,” reads a statement from the Maui Police Department.

In his post on X, Druski also took issue with the impact the allegations against him could have outside of the lawsuit.

“My heart breaks for actual victims of abuse, but I’m fully confident that the evidence will expose this falsehood and the individuals who are maliciously trying to game the legal system to peddle false narratives,” he wrote.

Maui County’s police chief is hired by a commission appointed by the mayor. Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen has requested Pelletier be put on leave. The commission’s next meeting will be Wednesday.

Pelletier also specifically responded to the request by Mayor Bissen to the Maui County Police Commission.

“Let me be clear: the allegations made against me are completely false, and I have not been formally served with any legal paperwork,” Pelletier said in a statement. “Throughout my career, I have served with integrity and dedication, and I am deeply disappointed by this request, which I believe to be both premature and unjust. I understand the importance of transparency and accountability in law enforcement, and I fully intend to cooperate with any necessary processes to ensure the truth is known.

“However, I firmly believe no one should face professional consequences based on unsubstantiated claims. I remain committed to the officers, staff, and residents of this County and sincerely appreciate the support of those who know my character, my dedication to my family, and my lifelong commitment to this profession.”

Pelletier said that despite this challenge, his focus remains on serving the community and leading the Maui Police Department with the honor and integrity.

Diddy is currently an inmate at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.