Sean "Diddy" Combs, who elevated hip-hop in American culture while building a music and clothing empire that made him a billionaire, faces a sex trafficking trial starting with opening statements on Monday that could cement the rapper's shattered reputation - or offer him a shot at redemption.

Cassie Ventura, the former girlfriend of Sean “Diddy” Combs and one of his accusers, could take the stand as early as Monday as one of the first three witnesses called in the government’s sex-trafficking case against the music mogul.