sextrafficking

Sean Combs, the famed rapper charged and held for racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and the sexual abuse of women, is being held in the same jail unit as disgraced crypto giant Sam Bankman Fried whose FTX empire was based in the Bahamas.

Both men are living in a Brooklyn unit at the Metropolitan Detention Center, sleeping in a dormitory-style room with a group of other defendants assigned to the same section, a person familiar with the living arrangements told NBC.

Combs has pleaded not guilty, but a federal judge on Sept. 17 denied bail and ordered that he be held until his trial, concerned that he would tamper with witnesses.

The unit where Combs and Bankman-Fried live is described as a barracks-style area that houses 18 to 20 inmates. This group –from high-profile defendants to people who cooperate with investigators–require special protection.

Bankman-Fried, 32, was extradited from the Bahamas to New York and was sentenced for stealing $8 billion in a financial scheme, described as one of the largest financial frauds in history. He is appealing his sentence.

A spokeswoman for the Bureau of Prisons said the agency “does not provide information about conditions of confinement, including housing assignments or internal security practices for any particular incarcerated individual.”

From the onset, Combs’s lawyers argued that the conditions at M.D.C. were too “horrific” for a defendant awaiting trial.

Metropolitan Detention Center has a history of problems and is described as “an overcrowded, understaffed and neglected federal jail that is hell on earth” with almost 1,200 inmates.

Seventy-nine-year-old Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard was arrested in Winnipeg, Canada on Monday, facing nine counts of rackerteering, sex trafficking and other related crimes.

The United States asked Canada to issue a warrant under the two countries’ extradition treaty.

Why it matters

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York says at dozens of alleged victims in the U.S., the Bahamas and Canada, and other locations have accused Peter Nygard of sex crimes.

What happened in court on Tuesday

• Nygard appeared in court looking dishevelled, with his hair in a bun style. His feet and hands were shackled, wearing a grey sweatshirt and grey track pants.
• Nygard’s lawyer, Jay Prober, asked for a publication ban.
• Canada’s Attorney General representative Scott Farlinger, opposed it, saying publication bans are issued in Canada to protect the accused’s right to a fair trial, which doesn’t apply in this case as the trial will be held in the U.S.
• Justice Sheldon Lanchbery denied the request for the publication ban, saying an open court is important and that there is no evidence that additional publicity, in this case, would affect Nygard’s right to a fair trial in the U.S.
• Nygard is being held at the Winnipeg Remand Centre until January 13th, his next court appearance.
• His lawyer said he would apply for bail before that date.

What the victims’ lawyers are saying

• One of the lawyers Lisa Haba told CBC News, “The survivors of our lawsuit have been waiting for this day for a very long time.”
• “Peter Nygard’s arrest marks the next chapter in holding him and his accomplices accountable for the unspeakable crimes against women and children they have perpetuated for decades. We will continue to seek justice.”
• Another lawyer Greg Gutzler added, “We are relieved that some measure of accountability is hopefully forthcoming, but we would be remiss if we did not state that this is something that should have been done decades ago.”