Started with courageous Cassie’s suit

Many of the depraved allegations in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ criminal indictment first came to light nearly a year ago when the music mogul’s ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura sued him for rape and physical abuse.

Notably, the so-called “Freak Offs” — drug-fueled, dayslong performances of sexual depravity that an observing Combs would masturbate to, according to the indictment — were detailed in Cassie Ventura’s November lawsuit describing the decade-long nightmare she allegedly endured.

Ventura — an R&B singer once signed to Combs’ Bad Boy Records — said the first “Freak Off” happened just months into their dating, when she was around 22 and he was 40.

Despite Combs’ attempt to keep the matter hushed by settling Ventura’s suit a day after she filed, those “Freak Offs” referred to in the court documents are now serving as a main basis for the bombshell federal sex-trafficking and racketeering indictment unsealed on Tuesday in Manhattan.

Ventura’s lawsuit claims that the exploitative and coerced sex shows often took place in hotels — including a 2013 event at an InterContinental Hotel in New York City, where Combs was later charged “tens of thousands of dollars in damages by the hotel,” according to court papers.

Ventura’s suit alleges that the rapper paid the escorts thousands of dollars to take part in the sexual performances, and would sometimes hit her in front of them.

Combs made Ventura the lead producer in his sicko sessions, ordering her to find male sex workers online while his assistants would stock hotel rooms with baby oil and lube, the suit alleges.

An inside source told The Post that prosecutors “have gotten evidence — recordings, text messages, names — from a lot of sources,” adding that, before the raids on Combs’ homes, feds were told by sources where to look for evidence.

Ventura’s lawsuit contains a central allegation made by prosecutors: that Combs videotaped the “Freak Out” sessions.