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Sean “Diddy” Combs has been sentenced to just over 4 years in prison, three months after he was found guilty of two counts of prostitution.
Combs was given 50 months in prison and a fine of US$500,000, the maximum possible, for his conviction on federal prostitution-related offences.
In his ruling, Judge Arun Subramanian said “a history of good works can’t wash away the record in this case, which shows that you abused the power and control over the lives of women who you professed to love.”
“You were no john,” he added. “You were more than that, even if your currency was satisfying your sexual desires instead of money.”
Subramanian said a substantial sentence is required “to send a message to abusers and victims alike that exploitation and violence against women is met with real accountability.”
Federal prosecutors had asked that Combs, 55, be sentenced to at least 11 years and three months in prison. Comb’s lawyers urged the judge to sentence him to no longer than 14 months, which would have resulted in his near-immediate release, as he has already served nearly 13 months in a Brooklyn jail.
During the sentencing hearing, Combs’ six children crowded around the podium, imploring the judge to give their father a second chance.
Quincy Brown, the 34-year-old son of Kim Porter, who was adopted by Combs, shared that his father “has learned a lesson.” The family had seen him evolve, Brown said, and “he is completely transformed.”
“My father is my superhero. Seeing him broken down and stripped of everything is something I will never forget,” said another son, Justin Combs, 31.
Chance Combs, his eldest daughter, told the judge that while her father was been incarcerated, she saw changes in him that “feel real and lasting.”
“When we talk he speaks with a clear mind and sense of purpose that I didn’t always hear before,” she added.
“I know how hard it was to stand up here and tell me those things, but it’s important for me to hear,” Subramanian said to them.
After an emotional series of statements from the children, Combs’ legal team presented an 11-minute tribute video that featured clips showcasing the rapper’s philanthropic efforts, motivational speeches, home videos and scenes of him mourning his late partner Porter, who died in 2018.
While addressing the judge, Combs thanked Subramanian for “giving me the chance to finally speak up for myself,” as the former rapper did not testify during his trial.
“One of the hardest things that I’ve had to handle is having to be quiet. Not being able to express how sorry I am for my actions,” Combs said in his statement to the court.
“I want to personally apologize again to Cassie Ventura for any harm or hurt that I’ve caused her – emotionally or physically,” he added.
Combs called his conduct “disgusting, shameful and sick.”
“Because of my decisions, I lost my freedom, I lost the opportunity to effectively raise my children and be there for my mother,” Combs said. “I lost all my businesses, I lost my career, I totally destroyed my reputation.”
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Combs said that he’s “lost my self-respect” and he has been “humbled and broken to my core.”
“I hate myself right now. I got stripped down to nothing,” Combs said. “I want to apologize to my seven children. Y’all deserve better.”
The sentencing marks the conclusion of the disgraced hip-hop mogul’s New York trial, which began on May 5.
In a letter to Subramanian ahead of his sentencing, Combs proclaimed himself to be a new man after realizing that he was “broken to my core.”
“Over the past year there have been so many times that I wanted to give up. There have been some days I thought I would be better off dead. 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,” he said.
Combs admitted that he had “no one to blame for my current reality and situation but myself.”
“In my life, I have made many mistakes, but I am no longer running from them,” he wrote. “I am so sorry for the hurt that I caused, but I understand that the mere words ‘I’m sorry’ will never be good enough as these words alone cannot erase the pain from the past.”
He went on to apologize for hitting, kicking and dragging his then-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016 — an attack captured on security camera.
“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.”
Rather than make an example out of him with a lengthy sentence, Combs asked Subramanian to “make me an example of what a person can do if afforded a second chance.”
The charges: What led to Combs’ sentencing?
Combs has been behind bars since his September 2024 arrest. He faced federal charges of coercing girlfriends into having drug-fuelled sex marathons with male sex workers while he watched and filmed them.
Combs had pleaded not guilty. His lawyers argued that prosecutors were trying to criminalize Combs’ swinger lifestyle and that, if anything, his conduct amounted to domestic violence, not federal felonies.
In July, Combs was found guilty of two counts of prostitution, including the transportation of Ventura to engage in prostitution. He was also found guilty of the transportation of former girlfriend “Jane” for the same purposes.
The Bad Boy Records founder was acquitted in July of the top charges — racketeering and sex trafficking. The defence won three acquittals after he was found not guilty of running a criminal enterprise and two counts of sex trafficking.
In all, 34 witnesses testified, headlined by Combs’ former girlfriends Ventura and “Jane,” who testified under a pseudonym. Both women said he was often violent toward them. Ventura said he forced her into hundreds of sexual encounters with paid male sex workers, while Jane recounted numerous “hotel nights.”
After the verdict was read, Combs’ lawyer Marc Agnifilo asked the court to release Combs from federal detention now that he is no longer charged with sex trafficking.
Combs’ legal team attempts to secure his freedom
Combs was denied bail after a jury convicted him of federal prostitution-related offences in July.
Judge Subramanian noted Combs’ violent history: “At trial, the defence conceded the defendant’s violence in his personal relationships, saying it happened with Cassie and Jane.”
Agnifilo asked that Combs be released on conditional bail to his home in Miami, and offered a US$1-million bond. Prosecutor Maurene Comey countered, saying to Subramanian that Combs should remain in jail until sentencing.
Later that same month, lawyers for Combs asked a judge to release him on a $50-million bond as he awaited sentencing.
Agnifilo said conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn were “dangerous,” and said defendants convicted in the past of prostitution-related charges that were similar to Combs’ were typically released before their sentencing.
He argued that the court should release Combs “on reasonable conditions” in advance of sentencing. The lawyer claimed that Combs “is not a risk of flight nor is he a danger to the community or to any specific people.”
Agnifilo said that if Combs was released on conditions, he “will not be violent to anyone.”
Combs’ lawyer also added a proposed bail package for the rapper with conditions including “a $50-million bond secured by Mr. Combs’ home in Miami,” which would also be co-signed by three “financially responsible people.”
The judge denied bail for Combs a second time.
His lawyers revealed they even reached out to U.S. President Donald Trump seeking a pardon following his conviction.
A source close to Combs’ legal team confirmed to NBC News that they had been in contact with the Trump administration.
This came after Nicole Westmoreland, a member of Combs’ defence team, told CNN in an exclusive interview that the music mogul’s team had reached out to Trump for a potential pardon.
In early August, Trump told Newsmax that Combs’ lawyers have “talked to me about Sean” but said he was unlikely to pardon the music mogul.
“I was very friendly with him, I got along with him great and he seemed like a nice guy. I didn’t know him well. But when I ran for office, he was very hostile,” Trump said.
When Trump was asked if granting Combs clemency was more likely a “no,” he said, “I would say so.”
Last month, lawyers for Combs urged a judge to sentence him to no more than 14 months in prison for his conviction. In a written submission, Combs’ legal team said he had already been punished enough.
They said their client is a “changed man,” who had realized that his overuse of drugs had contributed to violent acts he participated in.
What’s next for Combs?
Combs was denied acquittal and a new trial on Tuesday, the judge rejecting his lawyers’ argument that he was an amateur pornographer — not engaging in prostitution — and that the guilty verdict violates his First Amendment rights.
“The government proved its case many times over. That by itself might be enough to dispose of Combs’s challenge,” Subramanian wrote in the 16-page opinion and order.
“Illegal activity can’t be laundered into constitutionally protected activity.”
He called Combs’ filming “incidental,” pointing to trial evidence that showed he didn’t typically give notice or ask for consent for filming, as a film producer would.
— With files from The Associated Press
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Katie Scott
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