Since then, three other women have sued Combs, accusing him of rape, sex trafficking, assault and other abuses. One of the allegations involved a minor. A male producer also has sued him over unwanted sexual contact.

Geddes, who is not involved in the Combs case, said she believes Ventura might have been the trigger for the federal investigation.

She said the docuseries about Kelly spurred the Eastern District of New York to act — and that type of high-level investigation often requires an outside catalyst. In Kelly's case, he had been acquitted in 2008 and as a result, many of his accusers lost confidence in law enforcement. But the documentary re-engaged authorities.

"Nothing puts pressure on law enforcement like a front-page story on the major newspaper in the city," Geddes said.

Combs' investigation, led by Homeland Security, is several months old, according to sources, and many connected to the case — including accusers and alleged witnesses — have already been interviewed.

Geddes said Homeland Security Investigations also worked the Kelly case, and its agents tend to have years of experience working with sex-trafficking victims.

She said sex trafficking requires either "force, fraud or coercion to cause a person to engage in a commercial sex act" or the trafficking of minors under 18.

"There is no statute of limitations," Geddes said, and the key law enacted in the 2000s applies to acts from 2001 forward.

Geddes said that in addition to the sex charges against Kelly, she and her colleagues secured a racketeering indictment against the singer. The charge has famously been applied to mob bosses like John Gotti and James "Whitey" Bulger.

In racketeering cases, Geddes said, the "enterprise" carries out illegal conduct and prosecutors seek to show a broader pattern of conduct that stretches over years and involves many participants. A racketeering case also allows multiple victims' narratives in one trial.

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