Sean 'Diddy' Combs faces racketeering and sex trafficking charges. Read the indictment

Sean "Diddy" Combs used his fame as one of the biggest names in hip-hop to coerce women into engaging in demeaning sex acts as part of a decades-long scheme of sex trafficking and racketeering, according to a three-count federal indictment unsealed on Tuesday.

Starting in 2009, Combs used his vast media empire including his record label Bad Boy Entertainment to transport women, as well as male sex workers, across state lines to take part in recorded sexual performances called "Freak Offs" in which the music mogul would watch and masturbate, prosecutors said.

The 54-year-old rapper and producer was arrested in Manhattan on Monday night and is expected to appear in court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky at 2:30 p.m. EDT (1830 GMT) on Tuesday. Combs could face decades in prison if convicted of the three felony counts he faces: racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.

The charges were brought by the office of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, which is seeking to have Combs remain detained pending trial.

Combs enticed women by giving them drugs such as ketamine and ecstasy, financial support, or promises of career support or a romantic relationship, prosecutors said. Combs then used surreptitious recordings of the sex acts as "collateral" to ensure that the women would remain silent, and sometimes displayed weapons to intimidate abuse victims and witnesses, according to the indictment.

"The victims did not believe they could refuse Combs without risking their security or facing more abuse," Williams told a press conference.

The indictment contained no allegation that Combs himself directly engaged in unwanted sexual contact with women, though he was accused of