R. Kelly was convicted of sex trafficking. Is his case a roadmap for Sean 'Diddy' Combs' probe?

Federal sex-trafficking and sexual assault laws also allow prosecutors to present evidence that shows a modus operandi.

"In the R. Kelly trial, several women testified about what Kelly did to them as part of a pattern of behavior. It is very much the same thing people saw in Harvey Weinstein's prosecution," Geddes said.

If prosecutors do file charges against Combs, they also could allege the use of forced labor under threat, Geddes said. Ventura, Combs' former girlfriend, alleged she was forced into sex acts with other men and suffered physical harm for complaining. If true, this could be considered forced labor, Geddes said.

Kelly was convicted of eight counts of the Mann Act, which was passed in 1910 and sought to criminalize what's now known as human trafficking. The law initially banned transporting a woman or girl across state lines "for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose."

The Mann Act now covers transportation across state lines "with [the] intent that such individual engages in prostitution, or in any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense."

In the allegations against Combs, one woman said she was brought from Detroit as a 17-year-old to Combs' studios so he could rape her along with his cohorts, Geddes said.

Before the highly publicized searches of Combs' properties were executed, Geddes said, prosecutors and HSI agents had to "have made some headway into the investigations."

"What we can say at this stage is there was enough probable cause to convince a magistrate to issue a search warrant," she said. "Before getting such a warrant, agents have typically interviewed multiple witnesses."

Geddes said those types of searches typically seek corroboration of evidence because high-profile individuals tend to work with others to commit such crimes. In Kelly's case, Geddes said, his storage facility proved to be a goldmine. He kept message slips, handwritten notations and emails to pick up women and girls. And there were "videos, lots of videos," she said.

"We had so much evidence presented in Kelly, it was hard to fit it all into the closing," Geddes said. "He used his money and public persona to hide his crimes in plain sight," she told jurors at the time.

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