‘I wasn't surprised': Former federal agent, prosecutor react to Diddy sex trafficking indictment

Music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs was arrested in September on allegations of sex trafficking and racketeering.

The downfall of the former music mogul came as a surprise to some, but others said they saw it coming.

NBC6 Voices' Jawan Strader recently spoke with two federal experts for their legal and law enforcement perspectives.

Victor Williams is a retired special agent with the Department of Homeland Security and now works as an anti-human trafficking advocate with his non-profit Quest2freedom.

Chris Lomax is an attorney with Lomax Legal and is a former federal prosecutor.

Why the indictment was expected

Both Williams and Lomax believed this was a long time coming for Combs.

"I wasn't surprised. There had been a number of things that led up to this and I think it all culminated in that video that came out, I believe at the end of last year where we saw Mr. Combs being very violent towards a woman who he claimed to love," Lomax said. "When you act that way towards someone who you claim you love, then God knows what you would do to others."

Strader pointed out that Williams actually kind of predicted this outcome for Diddy.

"It just takes time. You know, you do a search warrant, you get evidence, you compile everything that you have and then you do the indictment," Williams said.

Why are bottles of baby oil significant?

Williams stressed that in terms of human trafficking, these thousands of bottles of baby oil are considered 'tools of the trade.'

"For instance, if I had a drug case, I'm looking for drugs. I'm looking for other things – scales." Williams explained. "So, when you look at a human trafficking case, I'm looking for bags of condoms. I'm looking for lubricant. I'm looking for things that will lead to let me know that that activity is going on."

What makes this a federal case?

"Mr. Combs has been accused of engaging in RICO violations, which is a federal offense," Lomax said.

He pointed out that there were also allegations of Combs bringing people across state lines to engage in unlawful sexual activity and a litany of other charges that range from forced fraud and coercion of people into sex acts and trafficking, which would fall squarely within the Untied States Code.

"Combs brought people in from out of state who were sex workers, and these are male sex workers predominantly, and forced women to engage in sex acts with these guys on sort of a marathon basis for hours and hours and days on end – using other forms of coercion, assault, violence, threats and even having them take IV's to re-up on these things," Lomax explained.

Should victims feel safe now that he's behind bars?

Williams made it clear that he doesn't think anyone should feel safe yet.

"If you are a victim or a witness in this case, you should stay low, you know, stay as safe and comfortable as you can," he said. "Stay with people that you trust."

Williams also explained why he believes Combs' team is working so hard to get him released.

"He intimidates, you know, he has the power to intimidate. So, it's more difficult behind bars to do that," Williams said.

However, despite being jailed, Diddy might have more power than people might think.

"I've seen traffickers, traffick women from behind bars just on the phone," Williams added.

Are more arrests on the horizon?

Williams believes it's possible that more people could be criminally charged, if they haven't already lost loyalty to Combs.

"I would guess a lot of them are working with the government," Williams said. "If they're smart, they will be working with the government on this situation."

On the other hand, Lomax said they still need to be very careful about their positions.

"The indictment talks about others. There's a lot of conspiracy language," Lomax explained. "Anyone who is helping to facilitate Mr. Combs' alleged criminal conduct is someone who could be of interest to the federal government here."

What's next?

Lomax said the next step is discovery – where all of the evidence that the government has will be turned over to Combs' defense lawyers.

"There will be motions to exclude certain things. Other motions may be filed with respect to the venue of the case," Lomax said.

He noted that there will need to be a decision of exactly where Combs will be tried, before a jury is then selected.

Lomax also believes Combs' case could go to trial relatively soon, if his lawyers push for it.