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Sean Combs to be sentenced
Sean “Diddy” Combs will appear before a federal judge in Manhattan on Friday to be sentenced following his conviction earlier this year on federal prostitution-related charges.
Following the eight-week trial concluded in July, jurors cleared Combs of the most serious accusations; sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. The jury did, however, convict him on two charges of transporting people for prostitution. Judge Arun Subramanian now holds the task of deciding the penalty. Proceedings are set to begin at 10am eastern time.
Combs was accused of pressuring two former partners into drug-laced sexual encounters involving hired escorts. A conviction on the most severe counts could have put him in prison for life.
When he was acquitted of those allegations, he dropped to his knees in prayer. His lawyer said he had “been given his life back”.
But the guilty verdicts he did receive still each carry a maximum of 10 years in prison under the Mann Act, which forbids crossing state lines to facilitate prostitution. Prosecutors describe the conduct as grave offenses, while the defense has dismissed the charges as “fallback” counts that never should have gone forward.
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Combs pleads with judge in letter before sentencing, saying he was ‘reborn’ in jail
Sean “Diddy” Combs told a federal judge that he has experienced “a spiritual reset”, and he hoped to be released so that he can return to his children and his mother.
“The old me died in jail and a new version of me was reborn. Prison will change you or kill you – I choose to live,” Combs, 55, wrote in a letter to Judge Arun Subramanian.
“I no longer care about the money or the fame,” he added. “There is nothing more important to me than my family.”
Rather than make an example out of him with a lengthy sentence, Combs implored Subramanian to “make me an example of what a person can do if afforded a second chance”.
Combs wrote that, now sober, and with his mind clear of drugs and alcohol after a year in jail, he can see how rotten he had become before his September 2024 arrest.
“I lost my way. I got lost in my journey. Lost in the drugs and the excess. My downfall was rooted in my selfishness,” he wrote.
He described “the remorse, the sorrow, the regret, the disappointment, the shame” from his behavior that has made it “so hard for me to forgive myself”.
Combs apologized to Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, a former girlfriend he had hit, kicked and dragged at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016 – an attack captured on security-camera footage shown to jurors repeatedly during his two-month trial.
“The scene and images of me assaulting Cassie play over and over in my head daily,” Combs wrote. “I literally lost my mind. I was dead wrong for putting my hands on the woman that I loved. I’m sorry for that and always will be.”
Anna Betts
After sentencing, Combs’s legal team could appeal the decision, and according to Reuters he is also expected to appeal his conviction.
Separately, Combs faces dozens of civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault and other misconduct. He has denied all allegations in those suits.
Supporters of Combs have appealed to the Trump administration in hopes of a presidential pardon, his lawyer confirmed.
Trump and Combs were once part of New York’s celebrity scene in the 1990s, but their relationship appeared to fizzle out after Trump entered politics. In 2020, Combs endorsed Joe Biden for president and said that if Trump were re-elected: “I really do believe in my heart there’ll be a race war.”
When asked in August about a possible pardon, Trump referred to that statement in a Newsmax interview.
“When you knew someone and you were fine,” Trump said, “and then you run for office and he made some terrible statements… so, I don’t know, it’s more difficult.”
Anna Betts
Photos from outside the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse in Manhattan show a huge line has formed as people have camped out for hours to try and get a spot at today’s sentencing.
Some appear to be supporters of Combs, and there are also some influencers and podcasters.
TV vans are lining the street.
A former girlfriend, R&B singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, testified during the trial that Combs ordered her to have “disgusting” sex with strangers hundreds of times during their decade-long relationship.
The jury was repeatedly shown video clips of Combs dragging and beating Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway after one of those multiday sexual marathons, which she referred to as “freak-offs” during her four days of testimony.
A woman who testified under the pseudonym “Jane” told jurors she too was subjected to violence and felt obligated to perform sexually with male sex workers at drug-fueled “hotel nights” while Combs watched and sometimes filmed.
To support their racketeering case, prosecutors also brought on witnesses who testified about other violent acts. A former personal assistant testified that Combs raped her. One of Cassie’s friends told the jury Combs dangled her from a 17th floor balcony. The rapper Kid Cudi testified that Combs broke into his home after learning he and Cassie were dating.
Although the jury acquitted Combs of racketeering, the judge can still consider that testimony as he decides the sentence.
It has been reported that Combs intends to speak directly to the judge before the sentence is announced, despite never testifying during the trial.
In a request filed last week, his attorneys asked that he be permitted to appear in “non-prison clothing” at the proceeding, just as he had during the trial when he wore sweaters and collared shirts.
“The sentencing proceeding holds significant importance for Mr. Combs,” the letter said. “He wishes to appear before the Court, address Your Honor, and allocate in the most dignified and respectful fashion possible.”
A wide range of sentences is on the table, as both prosecution and defense have made recommendations guided by federal sentencing rules, although the final decision belongs to the judge.
The government is urging no less than 135 months behind bars – that’s 11 years and three months – calling Combs “unrepentant” and highlighting violence and intimidation that witnesses described.
Defense lawyers are pressing for no more than 14 months, which with time already served would allow Combs to leave custody by the end of 2025. They argue that his punishment has already been sufficient for what they say was consensual sex with paid “entertainers.”
Probation officials, meanwhile, calculated that the guideline range could reach up to seven years and three months.
Sean Combs to be sentenced
Sean “Diddy” Combs will appear before a federal judge in Manhattan on Friday to be sentenced following his conviction earlier this year on federal prostitution-related charges.
Following the eight-week trial concluded in July, jurors cleared Combs of the most serious accusations; sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. The jury did, however, convict him on two charges of transporting people for prostitution. Judge Arun Subramanian now holds the task of deciding the penalty. Proceedings are set to begin at 10am eastern time.
Combs was accused of pressuring two former partners into drug-laced sexual encounters involving hired escorts. A conviction on the most severe counts could have put him in prison for life.
When he was acquitted of those allegations, he dropped to his knees in prayer. His lawyer said he had “been given his life back”.
But the guilty verdicts he did receive still each carry a maximum of 10 years in prison under the Mann Act, which forbids crossing state lines to facilitate prostitution. Prosecutors describe the conduct as grave offenses, while the defense has dismissed the charges as “fallback” counts that never should have gone forward.
English (US)