Sean Combs sex trafficking trial updates: Cassie's testimony ends after days of describing abuse

Cassie Ventura testified about the first time she recalled Sean Combs "knocked me around," describing a time in New York City when, she alleged, he "hit me in the side of the head and I fell to the floor."

Ventura testified that they were in a car when the alleged assault took place in front of a driver and staff.

Ventura told the court that she, too, sometimes initiated physical violence, recalling to the court a party where she said she had been drinking and speaking to a producer about music.

In the car ride home, "Sean called me a 'slut' or 'b----' or something. I punched him in the face," Ventura testified.

"How hard did you hit him?" prosecutor Emily Johnson asked.

"As hard as you can hit someone when you're drunk," Ventura responded, adding that she did not appear to injure Combs.

"After I punched him, he attacked me," Ventura testified, telling the court that she was on the floor of Combs' Cadillac Escalade trying to cover her face "because he was trying to stomp on it with his foot" and that one of Combs' assistants and a security guard were in the car at the time.

"I was getting really, really badly beaten," Ventura testified.

Ventura told the court that Combs ordered staff to take her to a hotel and ordered her to cover her face when she went inside. She was not allowed to leave until seven to 10 days later, she told the court, when an employee of Combs' allegedly told her that Combs wanted her at a recording studio.

"My eyes were still bloodshot in both eyes. I still had some bruising," Ventura testified, adding that she remembered wearing glasses and heavy makeup to cover what she said were her injuries.

Federal prosecutors showed the jury a series of seven still images taken from video recordings of "freak off" sex encounters in which Cassie Ventura has testified Sean Combs forced her to participate.

"That's me and Dave," Ventura testified when asked to identify a person who was seen in one of the images. "We are in a 'freak off.'"

Ventura in earlier testimony identified "Dave" as one of the male escorts allegedly hired to have sex with her while Combs watched.

Only the jury, the witness and the attorneys viewed the explicit images. Monitors in the courtroom were turned off to prevent anyone else in the courtroom from viewing them.

Ventura testified that the images came from videos that had been recorded on broken electronic devices that she had turned over to the government.

"That's me," Ventura responded quietly when asked to identify who was shown in another video still image.

"What's on your skin?" prosecutor Emily Johnson asked.

"Oil," Ventura replied.

Federal prosecutors gathered their video evidence in part from the multiple electronic devices Ventura turned over to them as well as from devices that agents seized from Combs' homes in Los Angeles and Miami Beach, where agents said they found a cellphone "stored inside of a black Balenciaga boot" in a master bedroom closet.

The attorneys for Ventura and Combs could view the images in a binder. At the defense table, Combs appeared to lean over to look at them.

Kemberly Richardson reports from Lower Manhattan.

Prosecutor Emily Johnson told the judge she expects to finish her questioning of Cassie before the end of the day, leaving some time for defense lawyers to begin their cross examination.

Teny Geragos, a lawyer for Combs, told Judge Arun Subramanian the prosecution's questioning of Cassie had "gone differently than we expected." She didn't elaborate except to say the defense will have to adjust their defense strategy as a result.

Previously, the defense has indicated it plans to show the sexual interactions were consensual behavior between adults who engaged in the swingers lifestyle.

Throughout her testimony, Cassie has insisted she never wanted to have sexual experiences with other people but did it to please the man she loved and out of fear of him.

The lawyers spoke to the judge to ensure they'd continue to be able to communicate with their clients during breaks in the trial, in part, to calm their nerves.

Judge Arun Subramanian told them they could still talk to their clients but were disallowed from advising them about things they should or shouldn't say or otherwise affect their testimony.

One lawyer said her client, who will testify as "Jane," has had "very serious breakdown moments in preparation for this trial."

Another lawyer, Michael Ferrara, said his client, who will testify under the name "Mia," will tell about the worst things ever to happen to her. Those things, he said, she otherwise would have taken "to her grave." He said she will want emotional support during her testimony.

"Candidly, her nerves are through the roof," he said. "I don't know how to support her if we can't discuss the pain she's going to experience from having to tell the world about her worst experiences."