The chief of the Maui Police Department was named alongside a former NFL All-Pro wide receiver, a comedian and others as part of a new slate of allegations in the ongoing sexual assault saga of jailed rap mogul Sean “P. Diddy” Combs.
An amended federal civil complaint filed Friday in Northern California accuses MPD Chief John Lawrence Pelletier as posing as a Contra Costa Sheriff’s Department deputy who covered up Combs’ alleged gang-rape of the woman who filed the lawsuit.
The complaint does not detail a time specific time frame for the allegations, which allegedly occurred sometime in 2018.
The amended complaint also weaves former NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and comedian Drew Desbordes, also known as “Druski,” into the allegations against Combs, who is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Pelletier was a 22-year veteran of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department when he was sworn in as MPD chief in December 2021, after the Maui Police Commission waived a one-year state residency requirement to hire the then-Nevada resident.
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In a statement to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, MPD spokesperson Alana Pico said Pelletier has “no connections whatsoever to any individuals named in the lawsuit.”
“The allegations suggesting his involvement are entirely unfounded. We are confident that the evidence will demonstrate these claims to be false and will expose those who are deliberately trying to manipulate the legal system to spread misleading narratives,” said Pico, noting that in 2018, while serving as a captain in the Las Vegas police department, Pelletier was honored by the Rape Crisis Center for championing the Stay S.A.F.E. program dedicated to sexual assault prevention.
“These baseless allegations not only harm Chief Pelletier but also show a lack of respect for victims of abuse, whose voices deserve to be heard and supported with compassion and integrity.”
In a letter to the Maui Police Commission, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen called for Pelletier to be placed on administrative leave while commissioners conduct an “independent review” of the allegations in the lawsuit. Bissen called the allegations “serious” and involving potential criminal conduct.
“This approach does not constitute a presumption of guilt but ensures that the individual in question is not in a position that may compromise the integrity of the office while the matter is under review,” wrote Bissen.
More than 100 people Opens in a new tab, including some who were minors at the time, are involved in lawsuits against Combs alleging that the founder of Bad Boy Entertainment and others sexually abused and exploited them.
Combs, 55, was charged by federal prosecutors in September with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty and denied the allegations.
“Combs did not do this all on his own,” Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said while announcing the charges in September. “He used his business and employees of that business and other close associates to get his way.”
The newly amended complaint alleges Pelletier did not call for emergency services or take a report after being told of one of Combs’ alleged sex assaults by a victim.
It also accuses the veteran police officer of putting a gun in the back of unnamed plaintiffs, a mother and son, in Las Vegas, ordering them into an SUV and physically restraining them in his personal residence in a bid to silence them.
The suit alleges Pelletier and Matias Gonzalez kept a list of Combs’ “safe houses” where he allegedly held marathon sex competitions during which women and men were raped by the rapper and others.
Pelletier was allegedly referred to as “Larry” by Combs’ people, according to the complaint.
