Exotic Male Dancer 'The Punisher' Recalls First Encounter With Diddy, Cassie

Sharay Hayes, an exotic male dancer known as "The Punisher," is testifying for the prosecution in the Diddy trial ... telling the jury about the first encounter he had with Diddy and Cassie ... saying the couple hired him to create a sexy erotic scene for them.

Hayes says he was first hired in 2012, when a woman called and booked him for a midnight gig at the Trump International Hotel in New York City. He says he was hired to perform a striptease for a group of people but when he got to the room, he says it was just Cassie in a bathrobe and a wig.

He told the jury Cassie told him that she and Diddy -- neither of whom he recognized at the time -- didn't want him to dance and instead wanted him to create a sexual scene with baby oil.

Hayes said the room was dimly lit, with bottles of baby oil on deck ... and Cassie told him they would apply baby oil and Diddy would eventually come out to watch ... warning him not to acknowledge Diddy when he appeared. Hayes said Cassie then handed him $800.

He testified he stripped down to a towel and he followed Cassie's lead and mimicked what she did ... pouring baby oil on himself until he says Diddy entered the room, with a bottle of Astroglide lubricant in hand. He told the jury Diddy would give Cassie subtle directions ... namely, lighting adjustments and body positioning ... and then Diddy and Cassie eventually went off by themselves into another room. He says Cassie later came back and asked if he wanted to finish, but he says he declined -- and then Cassie paid him an additional $1,200.

Hayes said he was hired about 8 to 12 times ... and he didn't recognize Cassie and Diddy at first because Cassie had a wig and Diddy wore a head covering that only exposed the eyes. He said on a subsequent encounter he came into the hotel suite and noticed a message displayed on the TV, "The Essex House would like to welcome Mr. Sean Combs."

He testified he was a fan of Diddy's and followed the mogul on social media ... and after seeing the TV message, he recognized Cassie from Instagram photos with Diddy -- and it all clicked.

He testified the encounters would last for hours, but sometimes he would run into performance issues. He said Cassie and Diddy would offer him drugs and marijuana, then added, "I am not a marijuana smoker but I did pull a Bill Clinton, I was handed a joint ..."

What's puzzling is how any of this testimony relates to the federal charges Diddy is facing. Diddy's pled not guilty to 2 counts of sex trafficking, 2 counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, and 1 count of racketeering conspiracy.

Hayes' erotic dancing and his large endowment are featured on YouTube videos ... plus he's pretty active on IG and even wrote a book about erectile dysfunction and penis implants, "In Search of Freezer Meat," and he said there's a few pages about Cassie and Diddy, though they're only referred to as a married, wealthy couple.