Cassie asks a federal judge to permanently dismiss Clayton Howard’s $35 million trafficking and sexual assault case.
Cassie Ventura says Clayton Howard’s $35 million lawsuit could discourage sexual assault survivors from speaking publicly or cooperating with prosecutors.
Cassie’s legal team filed a new motion asking U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang to dismiss Howard’s latest complaint permanently. The filing describes the case as an attack on a woman whose allegations helped expose years of abuse by Sean “Diddy” Combs.
“It is precisely baseless and harassing lawsuits like Mr. Howard’s that disincentivize actual victims of sexual abuse from coming forward or testifying truthfully as government witnesses,” her lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, said.
Howard, a former male escort who worked under the name “Dave,” first sued Cassie and Diddy in June 2025. He claims they trafficked, drugged and sexually exploited him during paid encounters that continued for nearly a decade.
Join Us
AllHipHop’s Daily News Service
Delivering news to inboxes since 1999. We break it. They take it. Get it first, straight from AllHipHop.
The lawsuit seeks $35 million in damages, along with money for past and future medical care, mental health treatment, medication and other expenses. Howard previously said the encounters ruined his health, damaged his career and contributed to the collapse of his construction business.
Howard claims Cassie contacted him around 2009 after he advertised escort services through Craigslist and Backpage. He alleges she arranged hotel meetings in New York before the encounters expanded to Miami and Los Angeles.
According to Howard, Diddy watched, recorded and directed the sessions, which sometimes continued for several days. Howard claims security workers confiscated his telephone, identification and clothing while Diddy controlled when he could leave.
Howard also accuses Cassie of helping organize the travel and using promises of money, gifts and vacations to keep him involved. The lawsuit says he received between $1,500 and $7,000 after each encounter.
His accusations against Cassie include claims that she manipulated him into having unprotected sex and knowingly exposed him to sexually transmitted infections. Howard alleges she concealed a chlamydia infection before a May 2016 encounter. Earlier filings also blamed her for transmitting herpes.
Howard further claims Cassie became pregnant by him and later ended the pregnancy without informing him. He alleges she returned to having sex with him after the procedure without explaining what happened.
However, Cassie argues Howard’s own allegations undermine his attempt to portray her as a trafficker. Her lawyers say his complaint repeatedly describes Diddy as the person who controlled the encounters, ordered security workers around and decided when the sessions ended.
The complaint also includes accounts of Diddy beating and controlling Cassie. It references the 2016 hotel surveillance video showing Diddy kicking and dragging her in a hallway.
Howard’s filing alleges Diddy kicked Cassie during a December 2016 encounter in Miami. It also incorporates testimony from another escort who said he watched Diddy drag Cassie by her hair before hearing blows and apologies from another room.
Cassie’s lawyers argue those allegations describe a woman acting under violence and control, not someone independently running a trafficking operation. They also note that Howard never accused Cassie of physically attacking or threatening him.
The defense says Howard voluntarily returned for paid encounters over many years, including after learning Cassie and Diddy’s identities. His lawyers argue the money, travel and gifts were not false promises because Howard admits he received the agreed payments.
Cassie also challenges Howard’s claims involving the alleged sexually transmitted infections. Her attorneys say his latest complaint does not show she knew she had chlamydia during the May 2016 encounter.
The filing says Howard relied on Cassie’s criminal trial testimony about recurring urinary tract infections, which are not sexually transmitted. His complaint alleges she mentioned a chlamydia scare months later, but Cassie’s attorneys say that does not prove she knew about an infection in May.
Judge Hwang previously dismissed every claim against Cassie on July 23 but allowed Howard another chance to rewrite them. She found he had not identified a timely incident involving Cassie that went beyond what he had agreed to do.
Howard filed his fifth amended complaint on August 3. The remaining claims accuse her of trafficking under federal and California laws, sexual assault and violating a New York trafficking law.
Cassie says the allegations remain too old, occurred in the wrong states or fail to describe force, fraud or coercion.
Cassie’s request to end Howard’s claims permanently is scheduled for October 21 at 1:30 P.M.
