Sean 'Diddy' Combs has pleaded not guilty to federal sex trafficking charges

Sean "Diddy" Combs appeared in Manhattan court on Friday for a pretrial hearing in his federal criminal case.

The 55-year-old Combs, his beard much grayer than it had been weeks previously, stood with his hands folded before Judge Arun Subramanian, telling him that he had read the indictment and understood the counts against him.

He grinned as he spotted members of his family, including his mother, sitting in the courtroom.

Two of the beleaguered mogul's children, a boy and a daughter, were in the second row of court, with Combs' mother.

In a superseding indictment, Combs pled not guilty to three charges: sex trafficking, transportation to prostitution, and racketeering conspiracy. The supplementary indictment contained more claims of racketeering conspiracy, but no new counts.

He is now being imprisoned at a federal detention center in New York City while awaiting trial. Jury selection will commence on May 5, and opening remarks are now scheduled to begin on May 12.

According to the indictment, Combs used his "power and prestige" as a music tycoon to coerce, threaten, and entice women into his sphere, frequently under the guise of a love connection.

According to the accusation, he then utilized force, threats, and coercion to compel victims, including the three ladies, to engage in commercial sex acts.

It claimed that he subjected his victims to assault, threats of violence, financial and reputational injury, and verbal abuse.

Furthermore, the indictment states that when Combs' power was challenged by workers, witnesses, or others, he reacted violently, including "multiple" incidents of abduction. According to the indictment, Combs once "dangled a victim over an apartment balcony."

Subramanian informed counsel that questionnaires will be delivered to hundreds of prospective jurors by the end of April, allowing questioning to begin on May 5 and opening comments on May 12.

Prior to the trial, federal prosecutors stated that they will make a "strong argument" to introduce a video of Combs kicking and dragging his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.

Following the revelation of the hotel footage in May, Combs apologized on Instagram.

"My behavior on that video is inexcusable.  I take full responsibility for my actions in that video," he said in the video. "I was disgusted then when I did it.  I'm disgusted now."