The sex trafficking charges against Sean Combs were dropped, leaving legal experts and advocates grappling with a familiar frustration: a high-profile case that seemed to have all the elements for conviction, yet failed to deliver justice.
Sidney McCoy was “honestly, really devastated” when she heard the news.
“At that point, we had heard the victim testimony from Cassie, and all of the evidence that was presented, it just seemed like such a home run case for the trafficking charge,” said McCoy, Director of Advocacy at Shared Hope International.
But McCoy’s initial shock gave way to a sobering recognition. She has seen this pattern before.
“I honestly wasn’t super surprised,” she said. “Over and over again, I’m being reminded by cases like the Diddy trial that as a society, we just have a very bad understanding of what human trafficking is and what it actually looks like.”
The ‘Taken’ Effect: How Movies Distort Justice
The gap between public perception and legal reality may have doomed the prosecution from the start. McCoy points to popular culture as a significant factor.
“Movies like ‘Taken’ have done so much damage to American culture and American society in terms of what their idea of human trafficking is,” she said. “This concept of like, yes, technically, these individuals were free to leave—I say that in quotations, free to leave at any time—not understanding that the coercion that was being exerted over them through fear and through threats of force and violence, or actual violence, in many cases, is just as difficult to leave as it would be like a jail cell.”
In the Combs case, McCoy noted, there was extensive evidence of substance use at parties—a classic coercion tactic. “That use of drugs and that use of substances is a huge part of the coercion that we see pretty often,” she said. Combined with Combs’ power in the music industry, it created multiple layers of control.
“You take these people who would do anything to have a career in the music industry, and you promise them, ‘I’m gonna get you a record deal, or you can be signed by my label.’ And then it’s almost like, well, now you owe me because I did this thing for you,” McCoy explained.
The Jury Problem
For prosecutors facing 12 jurors without expertise in trafficking dynamics, the decision to drop charges becomes a calculated risk assessment.
“When jurors probably weren’t going to convict him on it in the first place,” McCoy said, she understood why prosecutors ultimately decided to abandon the trafficking charge. “When they hear the word ‘sex trafficking,’ and then their idea of that looks like little girls being taken off the street and kept in cages,” conviction becomes nearly impossible.
The legal framework exists—federal law defines trafficking through force, fraud, or coercion for adults, with no such requirement needed when minors are involved. But applying these concepts to complex real-world scenarios requires education that most jurors lack.
“Fraud oftentimes can look like the offer of employment,” McCoy said, describing cases where clients were promised legitimate jobs but forced into commercial sex. “Coercion can look like anything from giving substances and then withholding them and saying, ‘I’m not going to give you your fix until you do what I want you to do.'”
The Criminalization Trap
Perhaps nowhere is the misunderstanding more damaging than in how the legal system treats survivors themselves. McCoy describes what she calls “the unjust criminalization of survivors of human trafficking.”
“Survivors often find themselves at this intersection of victim and offender,” she said, “because traffickers will use that force, that power, that coercion to manipulate or coerce their victims into committing crimes.”
Beyond prostitution charges, McCoy’s former clients faced a range of convictions. “Many of my clients had felony larceny convictions on their record” from being forced to steal from buyers. Others had drug convictions from being expected to sell or distribute substances, or from using drugs “to numb themselves from their reality.”
Some cases involved more serious charges. “It’s not uncommon to see cases where individuals who’ve been trafficked have been charged with the murder of their exploiter” in acts of self-defense, McCoy said.
“What choice do you have in that matter, other than to do what your trafficker is telling you to do?” she asked.
Five Ways You Can Make a Difference
Despite the setbacks, McCoy sees clear opportunities for meaningful change—and specific actions everyone can take.
1. Support Federal Legislation
The Trafficking Survivors Relief Act would allow survivors to vacate non-violent felony offenses from their federal criminal records.
“Currently, there are 46 states that have some sort of post-conviction relief legislation for individuals who were charged as a direct result of their trafficking. But there is no federal relief,” McCoy said. “Having a criminal record is a huge barrier to so many things in life, including safe housing, meaningful employment, education, even some loans.”
Take action on TSRA: https://act.sharedhope.org/h5NmuZy and contact your representatives to support both the House and Senate versions of this bill.
2. Check Your State’s Grade
On October 14, Shared Hope International will release report cards grading all 50 states on their human trafficking laws. This is your opportunity to see how your state measures up and where improvements are needed. Be the first to get your state’s grade: https://go.sharedhope.org/reportcards-facebook
“This is largely an issue that happens at the state level,” McCoy said. “It’s far more likely that somebody is going to be charged at the state level than they are at the federal level, so it’s super necessary that the states have a legal framework that really does protect victims of trafficking.”
3. Contact Your Lawmakers
For individuals wanting to make a difference, McCoy’s prescription is direct: “Talk to your lawmakers about this. Tell them, ‘Hey, I’m your constituent and I care about this issue, and you need to do something about it,’ because they are in a position of power to actually legislate things that could make a difference.”
Reach out to your state senator, representative, or congress members about human trafficking issues in your community.
4. Get Educated and Spread Awareness
Combat the myths that derail cases like Combs’. The misconceptions are pervasive: that trafficking requires movement across borders (it doesn’t), that it only happens to women and girls (it affects all genders), and that victims can simply leave (coercive control makes this nearly impossible).
Take action: Participate in our on-demand trainings https://sharedhope.org/what-we-do/prevent/training/#onlinelearning
Join our Ambassador Program: to help with training efforts in your community: https://go.sharedhope.org/activism25-facebook
5. Support Our Work
Help us continue our advocacy, research, and direct support for survivors.
Take action: Make a donation to support our ongoing work to strengthen laws, educate communities, and advocate for survivors across the nation: https://go.sharedhope.org/donate-via-facebook
Changing the Culture
McCoy acknowledges the tension between legal and cultural solutions. While the Combs case had the legal framework for conviction, she believes broader change requires shifting how society views commercial sex.
“Laws and policies have the ability to shape our culture,” she said. “There are ways that our laws and policies can ensure that our culture doesn’t normalize that behavior.”
Key to this shift is “making sure that the people who buy commercial sex are held accountable and are held meaningfully accountable, not just a slap on the wrist,” she said. “Not just a misdemeanor where you’re not going to serve any jail time, you might have to go to John school, but actual, meaningful accountability for people who are purchasing commercial sex.”
The Combs verdict may have been a disappointment, but McCoy sees it as part of a longer struggle requiring sustained advocacy. “So many of the solutions to the issue of human trafficking can be resolved through laws and policy,” she said.
