R&B singer Cassie gives birth to third child as Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sex trafficking trial continues

Casandra Ventura, the R&B singer and actor known simply as Cassie, has welcomed her third child, a son.

The news arrived Wednesday in the midst of the ongoing Sean “Diddy” Combs sex trafficking trial, at which Cassie is an essential witness. She finished testifying earlier this month while visibly pregnant over four emotional days on the stand, during which she described being beaten and raped by a man she once loved.

Reports from multiple media outlets said Cassie gave birth in a New York hospital Tuesday.

Stylist Deonte Nash, who worked for Combs for a decade, testified Wednesday that he talked to Cassie the previous day to congratulate her on the birth.

Cassie, 38, is perhaps best known for the platinum-selling 2006 hit single “Me & U.” She married personal trainer Alex Fine in September 2019. Their first daughter, Frankie Stone Fine, was born that same year and they welcomed their second daughter, Sunny Cinco Fine, in 2021.

The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie has.

Combs, 55, is on trial in New York on charges that he exploited his status as an entertainment executive to force women, including Cassie, into drug-fueled “freak-offs” with male sex workers and engaged in other abusive acts against people who relied on him for their careers.

Combs has pleaded not guilty to federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges.

After departing the trial, Cassie, who dated Combs for a decade, released a statement through her lawyer saying she hoped her testimony helps others “heal from the abuse and fear.”

Representatives for Cassie and Fine did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

___

AP writer Mike R. Sisak and Larry Neumeister contributed to this report.