NEW YORK — A Tennessee woman who claims in a civil lawsuit that Sean “Diddy” Combs sexually assaulted her when she was a 19-year-old college student in Brooklyn cannot pursue her case anonymously, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, finding that The woman’s arguments are “totally without merit.”

“Simply put, allegations of sexual assault, alone, are not sufficient to entitle a plaintiff to proceed under a pseudonym,” Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil wrote in the ruling.

The woman alleged that a security guard took her to a private room at a party hosted by Combs and that the guard told her, “You know what you’re here for.”

Asking that her identity be withheld, the woman argued that she could be harmed if her name were published, but the judge was ultimately not convinced.

“Combs has had no contact with plaintiff in the approximately 20 years since the alleged rape and Combs is currently detained awaiting trial. As such, counsel has not identified any current threat of physical harm to plaintiff,” the statement says. decision.

The judge also said Combs has the right to investigate his accuser and her credibility.

“The Court recognizes that Combs is a public figure and, therefore, Plaintiff is likely to face public scrutiny if she proceeds on her own behalf. The Court is not blind to the potential cost of such scrutiny to any litigant. However, the Court “Plaintiff’s interest in avoiding public scrutiny, or even embarrassment, does not outweigh Combs’s and the public’s interests in the customary and constitutionally entrenched presumption of openness in judicial proceedings,” the judge said.

This ruling could affect other cases brought by accusers who sued Combs under a pseudonym.

The judge noted that other plaintiffs have chosen to use their names in their lawsuits, including Casandra Ventura.

Combs has denied the allegations against him. In a statement Monday, his defense attorneys responded to new allegations against him, including one involving the alleged sexual assault of a 10-year-old boy, by accusing the plaintiff’s attorney of lacking credibility.

“The attorney behind this lawsuit is interested in media attention more than the truth, as is obvious from his constant appearances in the press and his 1-800 number,” the statement said. “As we have said before, Mr. Combs cannot respond to every new publicity stunt, even in response to claims that are seemingly ridiculous or demonstrably false.”

Defense attorneys said they and Combs “have complete confidence in the facts and integrity of the judicial process.”

“In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone, man or woman, adult or minor,” defense attorneys said.

Combs, who was arrested last month on extensive sex trafficking charges, has pleaded not guilty in that case. As part of their defense, Combs’ lawyers asked the judge to order federal prosecutors to reveal the identities of his accusers.