The office released a statement after a video surfaced in 2016 showing the music mogul physically attacking his ex.

• The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office says it is “unable” to charge Sean “Diddy” Combs in connection with the recently surfaced 2016 video showing him attacking Cassie

• The footage shows Combs grabbing, shoving, kicking and throwing objects at the singer.

• Combs and Cassie reached a settlement a day after she accused him of rape, sex trafficking and domestic violence in a lawsuit in November.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is “unable” to charge Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in connection with the recently surfaced 2016 video showing him assaulting Casandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura because the video was “taken outside the time frame in which a crime of assault can be prosecuted.”

After CNN released surveillance footage from 2016 on Friday, May 17, showing the 54-year-old music mogul grabbing, shoving and kicking his ex-girlfriend, prosecutors said in a statement on social media that they were “aware of the video circulating online” and found it “extremely disturbing and difficult to bear.”

“If the conduct described had occurred in 2016, we would unfortunately not be able to bring charges as the conduct would have occurred after the period in which a crime of assault can be prosecuted,” said the statement released Friday.

“To date, police have not presented a case related to the attack on Mr. Combs depicted in the video,” they continued. “But we encourage anyone who has been a victim or witness of a crime to report it to police or contact our office for assistance from our Bureau of Victims Services.”

Related: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs kicks Cassie after throwing her to the ground in 2016 hotel surveillance video

The statement came shortly after the footage surfaced online and is consistent with allegations made by Ventura, 37, in a now-settled lawsuit filed last November.

In the clip, Ventura can be seen leaving a hotel room and walking toward an elevator before Combs chases after her in a towel, grabs her by the neck, throws her to the ground, and then punches her. Combs continues to kick her, drags her toward a hotel room, and walks away before throwing an object at her seconds later.

Ventura’s attorney, Douglas H. Wigdor, said in a statement to PEOPLE that the “heartbreaking video only further validated Mr. Combs’ disturbing and predatory behavior.”

“Words cannot express the courage and strength Ms. Ventura showed in bringing this to light,” he added.

A spokesperson for Diddy did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Friday.

Related: A timeline of sexual assault allegations and lawsuits against Sean “Diddy” Combs

Ventura’s lawsuit, filed in November, appeared to detail the circumstances of the recording, saying it took place “in approximately March 2016” at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles – when an “extremely intoxicated” Combs allegedly “punched Ms. Ventura in the face, giving her a black eye.”

“After falling asleep, Ms. Ventura attempted to leave the hotel room, but as she was leaving the room, Mr. Combs woke up and began yelling at Ms. Ventura,” the lawsuit states. “He followed her into the hallway of the hotel, yelling at her as he did so. He grabbed her, then picked up glass vases in the hallway and threw them at her, causing glass to shatter around her as she ran to the elevator to escape.”

According to the lawsuit, which also alleges that Combs paid the hotel $50,000 for the footage, Ventura later “returned to the hotel to apologize for escaping from her tormentor.” Hotel security then told her to “get back in a taxi and go to her apartment.”

Related: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs settled civil suit with Cassie ‘so quickly’ over 2016 hotel videos, former CIA agent says

Combs and Ventura reached a settlement a day after she accused him of rape, sex trafficking and domestic violence in the lawsuit, which included multiple allegations of repeated physical abuse during their time together from 2007 to 2018. Ventura shared at the time that she “has decided to settle this matter amicably, on the condition that I have some level of control.” In his statement at the time, Combs said, “We have decided to settle this matter amicably. I wish Cassie and her family the best. Love.”

Ben Brafman, Combs’ attorney, previously told PEOPLE that the settlement “in no way represents an admission of wrongdoing.”

Speaking to PEOPLE this week, Tracy Walder, a former CIA and FBI special agent, shared that Combs “never expected the video to be released to the public,” citing it as the reason the rapper “settled so quickly with ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura in November 2023.”

“It’s very upsetting that the statute of limitations has expired. It depends on what the charge might be, but the statute of limitations can be anywhere from one to three years. Aggravated assault expires after three years in California,” Walder said. “Since this stemmed from an incident in 2016, she would not be able to face assault charges in Los Angeles.”

“This undermines the argument made by Diddy and his legal team that the government used too much force in executing his search warrants,” Walder continued.

Since the lawsuit, several people have come forward in recent months accusing Combs of crimes including abuse, sex trafficking and rape in separate lawsuits, all of which he denies.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or visit thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in more than 170 languages.

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