The first week of testimony in the sex trafficking trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs included a witness core to the case: Casandra Ventura, the music mogul's ex-girlfriend who accuses him of harrowing abuse, coercion and rape.

Combs, 55, is facing federal charges of sex trafficking and leading an illegal sex ring that enforced its power with crimes including arson, kidnapping and bribery -- and faces life in prison if convicted.

Here are takeaways from the trial's first week, which is expected to last upwards of another two months.

Ventura, the 38-year-old singer known as "Cassie," took the stand as a star witness mere weeks before she is due to give birth to her third child.

She was largely composed but at times openly wept as she recounted degrading sex parties she said Combs coerced her into for years, at times weekly.

Combs would direct her to take drugs before the elaborately choreographed sex that routinely involved male escorts, which he dubbed "freak-offs."

The drugs were a "buffer" to withstand the "humiliating" and often-filmed sexual encounters, Ventura said.

The jury was repeatedly shown disturbing surveillance........

© International Business Times