By Kara Scannell and Lauren del Valle, CNN
Sean "Diddy" Combs. File photo. Photo: Image Press Agency / NurPhoto via AFP
A US federal judge in New York denied a request to delay the sex-trafficking trial for Sean "Diddy" Combs by two months after his attorneys sought more time to prepare their defence.
Judge Arun Subramanian said jury selection in the trial will begin on 5 May as scheduled.
"It is unclear why there isn't sufficient time to prepare," he told Combs' attorneys on Friday (local time) after two additional counts were added to the case earlier this month. Prosecutors had opposed the request to move the trial.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to five charges of sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution and racketeering conspiracy that prosecutors said occurred over two decades. He has been held in federal detention in New York City since his arrest last September.
Prosecutors have accused Combs and others of coercing at least three women to engage in sex acts with him and, at times, with male prostitutes.
The occasions where prosecutors said the women were often drugged and forced to engage in sex for days were known as "Freak Offs."
Authorities allege Combs recorded some of the sex acts and controlled his victims by promising financial and career opportunities, as well as through threats of violence and other harm.
Judge Subramanian made two other significant rulings on Friday.
