<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Jurors have started deliberating at </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/sean-diddy-combs" rel="" target="" title='Sean "Diddy" Combs'><span>Sean "Diddy" Combs</span></a><span>' federal sex </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/trafficking" rel="" target="" title="trafficking"><span>trafficking</span></a><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/courts" rel="" target="" title="trial"><span>trial</span></a><span>, weighing charges that could put the hip-hop mogul in prison for life.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>After more than two hours of legal instructions from federal Judge Arun Subramanian, the jury of eight men and four women headed behind closed doors to deliberate on Monday (early Tuesday AEST).</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They'll be sifting through seven weeks of sometimes graphic and emotional testimony about the rap, fashion and reality TV impresario's propensity for violence and his sexual predilections, including drug-fuelled sex marathons dubbed "freak-offs" or "hotel nights".</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/east-coast-low-fears-of-bomb-cyclone-sydney-nsw-coast/058a06e0-ee22-472d-acd8-79afe1046280"><strong><span>Millions brace for day of massive storms</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Jurors are being provided with a laptop loaded with all of the exhibits shown in court, including text messages, photographs and videos of the sexual encounters at the heart of the case.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As he sent the jury to deliberate, Subramanian told the five alternate jurors to remain on standby in case they're needed to fill in on the main jury.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>About 10 minutes into deliberations, the jury sent a note indicating they'd completed their first order of business: electing a foreperson.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/diddy-trial-sean-combs-sex-trafficking-trial-jury-deliberating/6b8bc009-8955-4a19-b00a-a7a6c49fe708" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Combs faced his family and supporters, who are in the courtroom gallery, all who were bowing their heads in prayer — his family members holding hands with each other. As they finished, they all applauded.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking — relating to two of his ex-girlfriends — and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution for allegedly arranging to fly sex workers across state lines.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In closing arguments last week, federal prosecutors and Combs' defence team took their last shots at convincing jurors to convict or acquit the Grammy Award-winning founder of Bad Boy Records.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/joshua-bishop-grieving-parents-remember-beautiful-boy-after-human-remains-found/4c81d016-dae1-4f2a-b290-2afc5eb4c313"><strong><span>Parents' pain as search for son comes to tragic end</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The defendant used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted," Assistant US Attorney Christy Slavik said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"He thought that his fame, wealth and power put him above the law."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She said that he used his "close inner circle and a small army of personal staff, who made it their mission to meet the defendant's every desire, promote his power and protect his reputation at all costs".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo countered, "This isn't about crime. It's about money". He noted that one of Combs' accusers in the criminal case also sued him in civil court.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"He is not a racketeer. He is not a conspirator to commit racketeering. He is none of these things. He is innocent. He sits there innocent. Return him to his family, who have been waiting for him," the lawyer told jurors.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/predatory-teachers-vile-attempt-to-blame-schoolkids/d9da539c-a2a2-43d4-a262-756d40ba8d03" rel="" target="" title=""><strong><span>Paedophile teacher's vile attempt to blame his victims</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In all, 34 witnesses testified, headlined by Combs' former girlfriends Cassie — the R&amp;B singer born Casandra Ventura — and "Jane", who testified under a pseudonym. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Both women said he often was violent toward them. Cassie said he forced her into hundreds of sexual encounters with paid male sex workers while Jane recounted numerous "hotel nights".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Jurors also saw now-infamous security camera video of Combs beating, kicking and dragging Cassie at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016 and clips from videos of sexual encounters.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Combs chose not to testify, and his lawyers didn't call any witnesses in their defence case. His attorneys elected instead to challenge the accusers' credibility during lengthy cross-examination questioning.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The defence has acknowledged that Combs veered into violence, but his lawyers maintain that the sex acts were consensual. They contend that prosecutors are intruding in Combs' personal life and that he's done nothing to warrant the charges against him.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em></em><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f"><em><strong><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></strong></em></a><em><strong><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the </span></strong></em><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727"><em><strong><span>Apple App Store</span></strong></em></a><em><strong><span> and </span></strong></em><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU"><em><strong><span>Google Play</span></strong></em></a><em><strong><span>.</span></strong></em></div></div>