Thalia Graves was 25 years old and dating an executive at Bad Boy Records in 2001 when she was allegedly summoned to a meeting with Sean Combs, who raped her after she was slammed face down onto a pool table by an associate, Joseph Sherman, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in New York.
The lawsuit is at least the 12th civil suit filed against Combs, who has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy, forced sex trafficking and prostitution charges. He has denied allegations contained in the civil lawsuits.
Graves alleged Combs and Sherman gave her a drink, likely laced with a drug that eventually caused her to briefly lose consciousness. She woke up to find herself bound and restrained. Graphic details of the event, which she described as violent sexual assault, are included in the lawsuit.
More than 20 years later, Graves said she learned Combs had videotaped the encounter and shown it to multiple people, according to the lawsuit.
“Plaintiff could not believe that Defendants would record themselves committing such a gruesome crime and then proceed proudly and widely to disseminate the recording of it. She was distraught and sunk into a deep depression,” the lawsuit said. She claimed she had suicidal thoughts and ideation, has received extensive psychological treatment and “to this day suffers from severe depression, anxiety, and panic attacks, and still lives in fear of Defendant.”
If you are affected by abuse and needing support, or know someone who is, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800- 656-HOPE (4673). You can also chat online at thehotline.org or online.rainn.org, respectively.
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