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Cassie Ventura secured a legal win Thursday after a California federal court judge dismissed her from litigation by a former sex worker who named her in a lawsuit against her ex, Sean 'Diddy' Combs.
Clayton Howard, a one-time male escort, named the 39-year-old singer in a suit last year over Diddy's sex parties, known as 'freak offs,' saying that he dealt with psychological problems in the wake of the events.
U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang dismissed Cassie from racketeering, sex trafficking and human trafficking claims made by Howard in legal documents reviewed by the Daily Mail.
The Daily Mail has reached out to legal representatives for Cassie for further comment.
Cassie's legal victory comes after Diddy was reportedly sent to solitary confinement after allegedly getting into a brawl with another inmate in prison.
In the ruling, the judge dismissed Howard's claims against Cassie with prejudice, meaning that Howard will not be able to refile them against her. However, the judge also left open part of the case for Howard to amend his lawsuit and refile it within two weeks.
Cassie Ventura secured a legal win Thursday after a California federal court judge dismissed her from litigation from an ex-sex worker who named her in a lawsuit against her ex, Sean ' Diddy' Combs. Pictured in LA in 2017
Clayton Howard, a one-time male escort, named the 39-year-old singer in a lawsuit over Diddy's sex parties
Howard claimed in legal documents that Cassie had 'directly solicited' him 'to travel across state lines multiple times to provide services and that they engaged in similar commercial sexual activities.'
Howard filed the lawsuit last year following Combs' acquittal in connection with sex-trafficking and racketeering accusations.
Diddy, who denied the claims made in Howard's lawsuit, was ultimately convicted in connection with transporting people across states with the intent of having sex with them, receiving a prison sentence of four years and two months.
Howard told the court in his filing that Cassie had leaned on him to take illegal drugs and have sex without protection during the parties.
He said in his initial lawsuit that he had been paid for sex by Diddy and Cassie over an eight-year span starting in 2009, and felt used 'to satisfy their sexual fetishes and personal ambitions.'
Howard described Diddy and Cassie as 'toxic individuals ... who had no regard for others or the law.'
'Ventura was not merely a victim forced into sexual encounters with male escorts,' Howard said in his filing, 'but rather an active and engaged participant who willingly manipulated and exploited others.'
Howard said that Cassie also urged him to use drugs such as MDMA 'to lower his inhibitions and facilitate sexual exploitation.'
Cassie's legal victory comes after Diddy was reportedly sent to solitary confinement after allegedly getting into a brawl with another inmate in prison. Pictured 2023 in New Jersey
Diddy was ultimately convicted in connection with transporting people across states with the intent on having sex with them; pictured with Cassie in 2017 in NYC
He also claimed that Cassie had 'showed no mercy' in ordering him to take part in certain sex acts, had taped the proceedings without his consent and forced 'herself upon him during her menstrual cycle against his will.'
Howard added that Cassie had 'deceived, manipulated, and injured [him] and therefore, should be held accountable alongside Defendant Combs, as the two were partners in these criminal enterprises.'
The former escort has even penned a book detailing his allegations, titled 'Cassie: Victim or Co-conspirator.'
Last month, Howard slammed Cassie in a TikTok clip, according to a report from Complex, saying she and her lawyers had concocted 'a dedicated campaign to try to discredit me, stalk me, and harass me.'
He also took aim at her legal moves, saying that 'Her motion to dismiss attacks me on timeliness of the allegations, stating that, "Oh, because it happened X amount of years ago, now it's too late to charge her or seek action against it."'
Cassie subsequently sought intervention from the court in response to Howard's postings, according to TMZ, claiming that he took a victim-blaming stance and had been harassing and intimidating her with the posts.
The case also uncovered that Cassie and her husband Alex Fine had moved out of the U.S. after she requested the court change the venue from California to New York, USA Today reported, citing a May 1 declaration Cassie filed.
'I am not a resident of the State of California,' she said. 'I reside outside of the United States. I do not intend to move back to the United States.'