A lawyer for Sean “Diddy” Combs has asked the judge in the disgraced rapper’s sex-trafficking case for permission to quit his defense. “Under no circumstances can I continue to effectively serve as counsel for Sean Combs,” Anthony Ricco wrote in a motion filed Thursday. “It is respectfully but regrettably requested that the court grant the relief requested,” Ricco wrote, without elaborating on why he wanted to step down. The decision came after speaking with Combs’ lead attorney Marc Agnifilo, the filing said, but a judge must sign off on it to make the resignation official. Ricco is one of six defense attorneys currently representing Combs, who was arrested in September on suspicion of sex trafficking and racketeering. Prosecutors say he allegedly forced women to participate in days-long sex parties he dubbed “freak-offs.” More than 150 alleged victims—many of them men and boys—have since accused Combs of sexual assault, leading to more than 30 civil suits, according to The New York Times. Combs and his lawyers have denied all of the allegations. His criminal trial is scheduled to start in May.
