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The male exotic dancer who testified at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ famous federal sexual crime trial is open about the music mogul’s 50-month prison sentence.
Chalet Hayes, also known as the “Punisher,” spoke to the Daily Mail after Combs, 55, was sentenced to more than four years in prison on Friday, October 3rd, and was sentenced to more than two months in July after a federal trial that ended in nearly two months in July. (He was not guilty of sex trafficking and assault.)
Hayes told the outlet that at first he believed Combs should be sentenced to time, but he believed he was sentenced to four years, but he changed his mind after sharing the reasons for his prison sentence.
“I didn’t want to invalidate anything the victim had experienced. (Cassandra “Cathy” Ventura) was thinking,” he said, and was delighted that the victim had received justice. “This is the guy who did something terrible.”
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“But the world is so tough, as everyone thinks his regrets aren’t real. This man’s life – a fall from his grace is a catastrophic situation,” Hayes continued in the Daily Mail. “I have a lot of empathy and I actually feel very sorry for the guy.”
“I believe I have real regrets,” he added a comb, pointing out that he believes that the time and public attention of the music moguls in prison are sufficient.
Hayes was also opened about an emotional scene in court after Combs was sentenced to prison.
“Hey, look, I’m a grown tough guy named ‘Punisher’ and I was also trying to get some tissues,” Hayes said. “It was very hard. It felt very heartbreaking. It’s so eye-opening and letting you see this situation through another lens.”
Hayes also told the Daily Mail he wanted to be in court on charges of “closure” of Combs after testifying in May. At the time, he told the ju umpire that he had been paid $800 to stage “sexy scenes” between Combs and then-girlfriend Ventura, whilst avoiding eye contact with the music mogul.
Elizabeth Williams via the AP
He also testified that Ventura gave him a “bag of money” and gave him $800, telling him to “skin and me apply baby oil to each other and create a sexy environment where my husband comes across.”
Ventura also gave four days of emotional testimony, claiming she was physically, sexually and orally abused during a relationship that began in 2006 and ended in 2018.
The dancers wrote the book looking for meat in the freezer, which includes a six-page description of the hip-hop mogul’s encounter with Ventura, but although they were not explicitly appointed, they said they were “hiding in the house” after his testimony.
“I did a lot of interviews to try and create another story about myself, but I think I unconsciously felt, ‘Man, I’m in the middle of all this,'” Hayes told the Daily Mail. “It wasn’t easy.”
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“But I have to say I’ll be here in public, the majority of people are responding positively to me. When someone you know sees me, there are people who look up to me. That’s what it is,” he added. “But I think I need to experience this front as this is coming to a closed place for myself.”
Combs was convicted of transport to engage in prostitution in July, but was acquitted on more serious charges of sex trafficking and assault.
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Before being declared, Combs called his actions “I hate it, I’m embarrassed, I’m sick” and apologized to his former girlfriend, friends and family. He said his children were “better” and that he would fail his mother as a son.
In Combs’ ruling on October 3, Judge Subramanian said “a lengthy sentence is needed to send the message to abusers and victims that exploitation and violence against women is met with true accountability.”
The judge discussed Combs’ so-called “freak-off” (a choreographed sex party he coordinated), saying he rejected the defence characterization of “an intimate consensus experience or merely a sex, drug, rock and roll story.”
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If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-Hope (4673) or go to rainn.org.