Sean “Diddy” Combs presided over a sordid empire of sexual crimes, coercing and abusing women for years, threatening them to keep them in line and enlisting a cast of aides to cover it up, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday.

The music mogul “engaged in a persistent and pervasive pattern of abuse toward women and other individuals," including physical violence, in order "to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct, according to the indictment.

It describes him inducing female victims and male sex workers into drugged-up, sometimes dayslong sexual performances dubbed “Freak Offs.” It also refers obliquely to an attack on his former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, that was captured on video.

Combs was arrested late Monday in Manhattan, roughly six months after federal authorities conducting a sex trafficking investigation raided his luxurious homes in Los Angeles and Miami. He was due in court Tuesday.

Over the past year, the hip-hop impresario has been sued by people who say he subjected them to physical or sexual abuse. He has denied many of those allegations, and his lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said outside the courthouse Tuesday morning that Combs would plead not guilty.

“His spirits are good. He’s confident," said the attorney, who pledged to “fight like hell” to get his client released pending trial.

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