Sean “Diddy” Combs was sentenced on Friday to 50 months in prison, following his conviction earlier this year on charges linked to transporting women for prostitution.
Here’s a recap of his criminal case: what he was indicted for, what happened at trial, and what might happen next.
What was he found guilty of?
In July, after an eight-week trial, a jury found Combs guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He was acquitted of the most serious charges against him, racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, which carried the possibility of a life sentence.
The charges on which he was found guilty each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years. Combs had pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
Judge Arun Subramanian delivered the sentence on Friday in a federal district court in lower Manhattan.
Combs, 55, has been held without bail at the Brooklyn metropolitan detention center since his arrest in September last year. Since the verdict, the judge has denied two bail requests from Combs’s lawyers, and earlier this week Subramanian also rejected a motion to overturn the convictions.
What was Combs accused of?
Federal prosecutors accused the Bad Boy Records founder of using his power, fame, wealth and influence, and using violence, threats and blackmail, to coerce two of his former girlfriends into participating in drug-fueled sexual marathons with male escorts. Such sessions were often referred to by the defendant as “freak-offs” or “hotel nights”, which they said Combs orchestrated, watched, masturbated to and sometimes filmed.
The government alleged that for more than two decades, Combs operated a criminal enterprise – aided by employees and associates – to carry out and conceal crimes including sex-trafficking, drug distribution, bribery and kidnapping.
Despite being convicted on two counts, Combs has denied wrongdoing. His lawyers have insisted that all sexual activity was consensual and that no criminal enterprise existed.
What happened at trial?
The prosecution called more than 30 witnesses, including two of Combs’s former girlfriends – singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and another woman who testified under the pseudonym of “Jane” – who described the so-called “freak-offs” in graphic detail, and alleged that Combs coerced and threatened them into participating.
Ventura was the star prosecution witness. She testified that during her 11-year, on-off relationship with Combs, he subjected her to physical, sexual and emotional abuse and to blackmail. The jury was shown the 2016 hotel surveillance footage of Combs attacking Ventura in a hallway. Jane also told the court of a violent altercation with Combs.
Other witnesses included former employees, male escorts, law enforcement agents, hotel staff and public figures including rapper Kid Cudi and singer Dawn Richard. Combs did not testify.
Combs’s legal team acknowledged past instances of domestic violence, but denied that any coercion or sex trafficking took place. They maintained that all sexual activity was consensual and part of a “swingers’ lifestyle”, and argued that Ventura and Jane were willing participants in the sex acts.
On Friday, a New York federal judge sentenced Combs to four years and two months in prison. He was also ordered to pay a $500,000 fine, and the judge ordered five years of supervised release after he leaves prison.
Subramanian thanked the victims for coming forward and said “I want to say first we heard you.”
Before the judge announced Combs’ sentence on Friday, the music mogul addressed the court, and apologized to his former girlfriends, his family, “all the victims of domestic violence” and his community and called his conduct at the center of the case “disgusting, shameful and sick”.
His remarks followed a lengthy hearing where five of Combs’s lawyers, as well as his six adult children and others, delivered remarks. A woman, referred to only by the pseudonym “Mia” throughout Combs’ trial, was expected to offer a witness impact statement during Combs’ sentencing today, but, moments after the hearing started, it was announced that she no longer wished to speak.
What does the sentence mean?
The 13 months he served in custody heading into Friday’s hearing count toward his 50-month sentence, leaving him with about three more years in prison to serve. Combs’s attorneys had asked the judge for a sentence of no more than 14 months in prison, which, given time already served, would allow for his release before the end of the year. They argued that Combs has already been “adequately punished by serving 13 months in the terrible conditions” at the detention center.
Federal prosecutors, however, had requested at least 135 months (11 years and three months) and a $500,000 fine. In court filings, they described Combs as “unrepentant” and said “his history and characteristics demonstrate years of abuse and violence.”
In a letter to the judge, on the eve of his sentencing, asking for a second chance, Combs combined some apologies with vivid descriptions of his own physical and emotional suffering while in jail.
What was said in victim impact statements?
The prosecution submitted several victim impact statements to the court ahead of sentencing, including one from Ventura.
“While the jury did not seem to understand or believe that I engaged in freak-offs because of the force and coercion the defendant used against me, I know that is the truth, and his sentence should reflect the reality of the evidence and my lived experience as a victim,” Ventura wrote.
“I am so scared that if he walks free, his first actions will be swift retribution towards me and others who spoke up about his abuse, at trial,” she wrote.
“If there is one thing I have learned from this experience, it is that victims and survivors will never be safe,” she added. “I hope that your decision considers the truths at hand that the jury failed to see.”
What happens next?
Combs’s legal team told CNN that the judge’s sentence was “un-American” and that they feel they have “strong basis to appeal.”
Separately, Combs faces dozens of civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault and other misconduct. He has denied all allegations in those suits.
