A New York federal judge has sentenced Sean “Diddy” Combs to four years and two months in prison following his conviction this summer on federal prostitution-related charges.
The sentence, handed down on Friday, came after a federal jury in July acquitted the 55-year-old music mogul of the most serious charges against him – racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking – but found him guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Each count carried a maximum sentence of 10 years.
Combs, who had pleaded not guilty to all of the charges brought against him, has been held at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center since his arrest in September 2024. 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.
He was also ordered to pay a $500,000 fine, and the judge ordered five years of supervised release after he leaves prison.
Combs’s lawyers had requested a sentence of no more than 14 months in prison, which, given time already served, would have allowed him to walk free before the end of the year.
Federal prosecutors, however, pushed for a significantly longer sentence, asking the court to impose a sentence of at least 135 months (11 years and three months) and a $500,000 fine. In their filing, the prosecutors described Combs as “unrepentant” and said that “his history and characteristics demonstrate years of abuse and violence”. The US probation department recommended a sentence of five to seven years.
Before learning his sentence, Combs 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”.
“No matter what anybody says, I know that I’m truly sorry for it all,” he said.
“Your honor, I know that the prosecution wants you to make an example of me,” Combs said. “I just want you to think about making an example of what a person can do if they get another chance.”
His remarks followed a lengthy hearing where five of of Combs’s lawyers, as well as his six adult children and others, delivered remarks.
Since the jury delivered its verdict in July, Judge Arun Subramanian has denied two bail requests from Combs’s legal team and rejected a motion to overturn the convictions.
During Combs’s trial, which began 12 May, federal prosecutors accused the Bad Boy Records founder of using his power, fame, wealth and influence, as well as violence, threats and blackmail, to coerce two of his former girlfriends into participating in what were described as drug-fueled sexual marathons with male escorts, referred to as “freak-offs” or “hotel nights”, which they said Combs orchestrated, watched, masturbated to and sometimes filmed.
Prosecutors alleged that for more than two decades, Combs led a criminal enterprise – aided by employees and associates – that engaged in and worked to cover up a range of crimes including sex trafficking, kidnapping, forced labor, drug distribution, arson and bribery, enticement to engage in prostitution and obstruction of justice.
The jury heard from more than 30 witnesses called by the prosecution, including two of Combs’s former girlfriends, multiple former employees and assistants, male escorts, hotel staff, law enforcement agents and public figures including rapper Kid Cudi and singer Dawn Richard and others. Combs did not testify.
And after 13 hours of deliberation across three days, the jury returned the mixed verdict and acquitted Combs of the racketeering and sex trafficking charges, which could have led to a life sentence, but found him guilty on the prostitution-related counts stemming from the federal Mann Act.
Central to the prosecution’s case were the accounts from the two former girlfriends: singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and a woman who testified under the pseudonym of “Jane”. Both women described the so-called “freak offs” in graphic detail and alleged that Combs coerced them into participating.
Ventura testified that during her and Combs’s 11-year long on-and-off relationship, Combs subjected her to physical, sexual and emotional abuse and blackmail. Jurors were repeatedly shown the 2016 hotel surveillance footage of Combs attacking Ventura in a hotel hallway.
“Jane” testified that she, too, was pressured and threatened by Combs into sex acts, and also recounted an violence altercation with Combs that left her with welts on her head.
Throughout the trial, Combs’s legal team acknowledged past instances of domestic violence, but denied that any coercion or sex trafficking took place and maintained that all sexual activity was consensual, characterizing them as part of a “swingers lifestyle”.
Earlier this week, ahead of the sentencing, Ventura submitted a victim impact statement, urging the court to hand down the sentence suggested by the prosecutors.
“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.
She said that she still has “nightmares and flashbacks on a regular, everyday basis, and continue to require psychological care to cope with my past”.
“My worries that Sean Combs or his associates will come after me and my family is my reality,” she wrote to the court. “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.
Before sentencing Combs on Friday, Subramanian also delivered remarks in court and said that Combs “abused the power and control with women you professed to love”.
“You abused them physically, emotionally and psychologically,” he said.
Subramanian said that “a substantial sentence must be given” to “send a message to abusers and victims alike that abuse against women is met with real accountability”.
After delivering the sentence, Subramanian acknowledged the victims who had come forward to testify in the case.
“We heard you,” he said. “I am proud of you for coming to the court to tell the world what really happened.”
Ventura’s attorney, Doug Wigdor, said in a statement that the sentence “recognizes the impact of the serious offenses he committed”.
“While nothing can undo the trauma caused by Combs … we are confident that with the support of her family and friends, Ms Ventura will continue healing knowing that her bravery and fortitude have been an inspiration to so many,” Wigdor’s statement said.
Attorney Arick Fudali, who represents Richard and another Combs accuser identified as John Doe, told the Guardian outside the courthouse Friday that he was “a bit surprised” with how Subramanian sentenced Combs below the five years and 10 months to seven yearsand three months recommended by probation officials.
“But ultimately I believe the judge gave a very well reasoned sentencing, and now on behalf of my clients, I look forward to pursuing our civil case against him,” Fudali said.
Fudali also said he was encouraged with how Subramanian focused on Combs’s victims during his presentation in court on Friday.
Outside of his criminal case, Combs still facesmore than 50 civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual abuse and other misconduct. He has denied all allegations in those filings.
