Cassie Ventura has secured a decisive legal victory against a former male escort who accused her of participating in an alleged criminal enterprise alongside Sean “Diddy” Combs. U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang dismissed racketeering, sex trafficking, and human trafficking claims brought against the singer by Clayton Howard, who alleged he suffered psychological trauma after participating in the former couple’s sexual encounters. Crucially, the claims against Cassie were dismissed with prejudice, preventing Howard from filing them against her again. His allegations were not proven in court.
Howard named Cassie in a lawsuit filed last year over Diddy’s sex parties, commonly referred to as “freak offs.” According to legal documents reviewed by the Daily Mail, Judge Hwang dismissed the claims against the 39-year-old singer on Thursday.
A dismissal with prejudice generally closes the door on a plaintiff attempting to bring those same claims against the dismissed defendant again. In this case, the ruling means Howard cannot refile the dismissed racketeering, sex trafficking, and human trafficking allegations against Cassie.
The judge did, however, leave another portion of the litigation open for Howard to amend and refile within two weeks. The report did not specify that the dismissed claims against Cassie were included in that opportunity.
Clayton Howard Accused Cassie Of Exploiting Him
5Howard claimed that Cassie had “directly solicited” him “to travel across state lines multiple times to provide services and that they engaged in similar commercial sexual activities.” The former escort alleged that Diddy and Cassie paid him for sex over eight years beginning in 2009. He claimed he was used “to satisfy their sexual fetishes and personal ambitions.” Howard characterized the former couple as “toxic individuals … who had no regard for others or the law.”
“Ventura was not merely a victim forced into sexual encounters with male escorts,” Howard alleged in his filing, “but rather an active and engaged participant who willingly manipulated and exploited others.” He further accused Cassie of pressuring him to consume drugs, including MDMA, “to lower his inhibitions and facilitate sexual exploitation.”
Howard also made allegations involving unprotected sex, nonconsensual recording, and unwanted sexual acts. He claimed Cassie had “showed no mercy” when instructing him to participate in certain encounters. “Ventura had deceived, manipulated, and injured [him] and therefore, should be held accountable alongside Defendant Combs, as the two were partners in these criminal enterprises,” Howard alleged.
Those accusations remained disputed and were not established as facts before the court dismissed the claims against Cassie.
Former Escort Publicly Attacked Cassie’s Defense
5Howard also wrote a book about his allegations titled “Cassie: Victim or Co-conspirator.” Last month, he discussed the litigation in a TikTok video and accused Cassie and her attorneys of mounting “a dedicated campaign to try to discredit me, stalk me, and harass me.”
He also criticized her legal team’s attempt to have his claims dismissed based partly on timing. “Her motion to dismiss attacks me on timeliness of the allegations, stating that, ‘Oh, because it happened X amount of years ago, now it’s too late to charge her or seek action against it,’” Howard said.
Cassie subsequently asked the court to intervene over Howard’s social media posts, according to TMZ. The singer reportedly characterized his content as victim-blaming and accused him of using the posts to harass and intimidate her.
Diddy Denied Howard’s Allegations
5Howard filed his lawsuit after Diddy was acquitted of federal sex-trafficking and racketeering charges. Although the music mogul denied the allegations in Howard’s civil complaint, he was convicted of offenses involving the transportation of individuals across state lines for sexual activity. Diddy was sentenced to four years and two months in prison.
Howard’s civil allegations against Cassie were separate from the charges decided during Diddy’s criminal trial, and the latest ruling did not find Cassie liable for his claims. Cassie’s dismissal also arrives amid reports that Diddy was recently placed in solitary confinement following an alleged fight with another inmate.
Cassie Revealed She No Longer Lives In The U.S.
5The lawsuit also disclosed that Cassie and her husband, Alex Fine, had moved outside the United States. Her current living situation became public after she asked the court to transfer the case from California to New York. “I am not a resident of the State of California,” Cassie said in a May 1 declaration cited by USA Today. “I reside outside of the United States. I do not intend to move back to the United States.”
While Howard may still have an opportunity to amend another portion of his case, the court’s decision permanently removes Cassie from the racketeering, sex trafficking, and human trafficking claims he brought against her.
