Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs denied bail after prostitution conviction; found not guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking
The music mogul will likely remain in jail until sentencing but his lawyer hailed the verdict as a ‘great victory’ after Combs was found not guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking.
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been denied bail after being convicted on prostitution charges and may be forced to remain in jail until his sentencing on October 3.
Combs was found not guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking but his conviction on the less serious offences is a blow for prosecutors who had targeted the music mogul in a sprawling case that alleged he ran a criminal enterprise for over two decades.
While Combs, 55, was acquitted of the most serious charges against him, the jury convicted Combs on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He had been accused by federal prosecutors of committing a litany of offences as part of the alleged enterprise: kidnapping, bribery, sex crimes and subsequent cover-ups.
His lawyer Marc Agnifilo called the verdict a “great victory” and said the jury “got the situation right — or certainly right enough” after the verdict. “Today is a victory of all victories,” he said.Combs, who spent the past nine months in jail, held his lawyers’ hands as the verdict was read. Afterwards, he pumped his fists and made prayer hands toward the jury. Later, he got down on his knees and prayed before his family, and supporters broke out in cheers in the courtroom.
During the trial, jurors grappled with thorny issues surrounding consent, power and love. They viewed images and video from the sex parties, which he called freak-offs, and heard from his former girlfriends and staff who detailed the elaborate steps he took to organise the events, from having employees procure drugs to stocking hotel rooms with baby oil and Gatorade. The government witnesses also gave graphic accounts of Combs using violence, financial leverage and the threat of releasing videos of the parties to control his victims.
But Combs’s defence team poked holes in much of the testimony, recasting his accusers as willing participants in the sex parties. The lawyers confronted the women with loving texts they sent to Combs and got them to admit they were at times open to the parties.
The lawyers also took a surprising stance at the start of the trial — acknowledging Combs had a temper and had been violent in his relationships. They couched the violence as domestic abuse stemming from drug addiction and jealousy, rather than a purposeful attempt to coerce women into sex acts.
The jury began its deliberations late Monday morning. On Tuesday afternoon, they told the judge they had reached a verdict on four counts, but were stuck on the racketeering conspiracy charge. The judge instructed the panel to continue its deliberations.
Combs had faced a minimum sentence of 15 years on each of the two counts of sex trafficking against him and up to life in prison if convicted on the racketeering conspiracy count.
The crime of which Combs was convicted, transportation to engage in prostitution, carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on each count. In a letter to the judge Wednesday, prosecutors estimated that under sentencing guidelines, Combs could face at least four to five years in prison. These guidelines aren’t mandatory.
After the verdict, defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo asked US District Judge Arun Subramanian, who presided over the case, to release Combs from jail while he awaits sentencing. Agnifilo said that, if freed, his client would return to his home in Miami.
“Mr Combs has been given his life by this jury,” he said. “He treasures, I assure you, the opportunity that he has been given and he will not run afoul of anything this court imposes on him.”
Prosecutors objected, saying his acts of violence and drug use were proof that he poses a threat if released. Subramanian said he would meet with the two sides later Wednesday to decide the request.
Jay Clayton, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Ricky Patel, special agent in charge of the New York field office of Homeland Security Investigations, said in a statement after the verdict, “Prosecuting sex crimes requires brave victims to come forward and tell their harrowing stories. We and our law enforcement partners recognise the hardships victims endure and have prioritised a victim-centred approach to investigating and prosecuting these cases.”
Combs was arrested in September, following a monthslong investigation and a series of lawsuits filed by women accusing him of sexual abuse. His trial kicked off in May in a federal courthouse in lower Manhattan, garnering worldwide attention and attracting throngs of journalists, social-media influencers and his supporters.
The trial gave the public a glimpse into Combs’s glamorous lifestyle, one involving yachts, private jets and jaunts to the Caribbean. But witness testimony took many dark turns and depicted him as an exacting boss who demanded his staff cater to his every whim at all hours of the day. There were also occasional celebrity cameos, including one by Kanye West, a friend of Combs, who showed up one day to try to get a seat in the courtroom.
Prosecutors argued that Combs’s high-ranking employees, including bodyguards, aided his criminal activity. Some of these employees who testified at trial were granted immunity to do so.
The prosecution’s star witness, singer Cassie Ventura, told jurors that she had an on-again, off-again relationship with Combs for more than a decade. The relationship was complicated, she said, because she loved Combs and valued the time she was with him, including during drug-fuelled sex parties dubbed “freak offs.”
But as time went on, Ventura and other witnesses testified, Combs became violent, assaulting her in a hotel hallway and attempting to hit her on the head with a skillet. Prosecutors showed jurors photos of her bruises and other injuries. She said she stayed with him because of the power he exerted over her, including by threatening to release sex tapes, maintaining influence over her career and keeping tabs on her location.
Two other accusers, who testified under the pseudonyms Mia and Jane, recounted similar incidents of sex and violence. Mia, who worked as Combs’s personal assistant, told jurors he had brainwashed her. “He was my authority figure, the only authority figure,” she testified.
Other witnesses testified that they saw Combs commit criminal acts, including one personal assistant who said Combs kidnapped her at gunpoint and took her to break into the home of musician Kid Cudi, who had a relationship with Ventura.
Combs’s lawyers declined to call any witnesses, and the hip-hop mogul didn’t take the stand.
During cross-examination, his defence attorneys sought to portray the witnesses as inconsistent and unreliable. They argued that all sex was consensual, and showed jurors messages in which the accusers indicated they wanted to have sex with Combs.
In one BlackBerry message, Combs asked Ventura when she wanted to schedule a sex party. “I’m always ready to freak off,” Ventura replied.
They also suggested some accusers were financially motivated. Ventura filed a 2023 civil lawsuit accusing Combs of rape and abuse, which she subsequently settled for $20 million.
Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer for Ventura, said in a statement Wednesday: “By coming forward with her experience, Cassie has left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice.”
The verdict illustrates the value of the defence telling a consistent story, said Sarah Krissoff, a former federal prosecutor. “It just goes to show you how powerful a counter-narrative can be,” Krissoff said.
The conviction on the prostitution offences could be consistent with the defence’s narrative that all sex was consensual. Those counts revolve around transportation for sex, but carry a lower bar than the sex-trafficking counts, Krissoff said.
“You don’t have to do that by fraud, force or coercion,” she said.
Combs, a rapper who found more success as a producer, shepherded the careers of artists including the Notorious B.I.G. and Faith Evans. He spun his fame into a business empire selling alcohol, clothes and cologne.
He released his fifth studio album, “The Love Album: Off the Grid,” in 2023
Wall Street Journal
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