Sean "Diddy" Combs Court Decision: Key Details to Understand
Sean "Diddy" Combs is scheduled for sentencing on Friday morning by a federal judge in New York City, after his guilty verdict earlier this year on charges related to prostitution.
This article provides a recap of his criminal case: what he was indicted for, the trial events, and potential next steps.
What Charges Was He Convicted On?
During July, following a two-month trial, a panel of jurors convicted Combs of two charges of transporting individuals for prostitution. He was found not guilty of the most serious charges against him, racketeering conspiracy and human trafficking, which carried the potential of a life imprisonment.
The offenses on which he was found guilty each have a maximum penalty of 10 years. Combs had pleaded not guilty to every count.
Judge Arun Subramanian, who oversaw the case, will deliver the ruling on the scheduled day, with the hearing set to start at 10:00 AM Eastern Time in federal district court in lower Manhattan.
Combs, fifty-five, has been detained without bond at the Brooklyn metropolitan detention center since his apprehension in the previous September. Since the verdict, the judge has denied multiple bail applications from Combs’s lawyers, and recently Subramanian also rejected a request to set aside the convictions.
What Allegations Was Combs Facing?
Government attorneys alleged the Bad Boy Records founder of leveraging his status and resources, and using violence, threats and blackmail, to coerce two of his former girlfriends into engaging in sex parties involving drugs with paid companions. Such events were often called by the accused as “hotel nights”, which they said Combs orchestrated, watched, pleasured himself to and occasionally recorded.
The government asserted that for over twenty years, Combs ran a illegal operation – assisted by staff and allies – to conduct and conceal crimes including sex trafficking, drug dealing, bribery and kidnapping.
Despite being convicted on two charges, Combs has denied wrongdoing. His attorneys have maintained that every encounter was consensual and that no illicit organization was present.
What Transpired At Trial?
The government's case presented more than 30 witnesses, including former partners of Combs – artist Cassie Ventura and a second individual who testified using the alias Jane – who recounted the so-called “freak-offs” in graphic detail, and alleged that Combs coerced and threatened them into taking part.
Ventura was the key witness for the prosecution. She testified that during her 11-year, on-off relationship with Combs, he exposed her to physical, sexual and emotional abuse and to blackmail. The jury was shown the 2016 hotel surveillance footage of Combs assaulting Ventura in a corridor. Jane also testified of a violent altercation with Combs.
Other witnesses included former employees, male escorts, law enforcement agents, hotel employees and public figures including musician Kid Cudi and artist Dawn Richard. Combs chose not to take the stand.
Combs’s defense attorneys admitted previous incidents of abuse, but disputed that any coercion or trafficking took place. They maintained that every sexual act was consensual and part of a “swingers’ lifestyle”, and contended that Ventura and Jane were consenting adults in the encounters.
What Sentence Could He Serve?
Combs’s attorneys have requested the court for a sentence of a maximum of 14 months in prison, which, given time already served, would permit his freedom by year's end. They argue that Combs has already been “sufficiently penalized” by serving 13 months in the “terrible conditions” at the facility.
Federal prosecutors, however, have sought a minimum of 135 months (11 years and three months) and a half-million-dollar penalty. In legal documents, they described Combs as “showing no remorse” and said that “his background and behavior” demonstrate a pattern of misconduct.
What Statements Were Made By the Victims?
The government submitted several victim impact statements to the judge ahead of sentencing, including one from Ventura.
“While the jury did not seem to grasp or accept that I engaged in the events because of the pressure and intimidation the defendant used against me, I know that is the truth, and his sentence should account for the reality of the evidence and my lived experience as a victim,” Ventura stated.
“I am so scared that if he walks free, his first actions will be swift retribution towards me and other individuals who spoke up about his abuse, at court,” she wrote.
“If there is one thing I have gained from this experience, it is that victims and survivors will never be secure,” she continued. “I hope that your decision takes into account the facts at hand that the panel failed to see.”
What Comes Next?
After sentencing, Combs’s attorneys could appeal against the decision. Combs’s team is also expected to contest his conviction.
Additionally, Combs is confronting numerous civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault and other misconduct. He has disputed every claim in those suits.