Sean 'Diddy' Combs convicted on prostitution counts, but cleared of more serious charges

NEW YORK: Sean "Diddy" Combs was found guilty on Wednesday (Jul 2) of prostitution-related offences, but cleared of more serious charges after a criminal trial in which two of the music mogul's former girlfriends testified that he physically and sexually abused them.

Combs was convicted of transportation to engage in prostitution but acquitted of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking, a partial win for the former billionaire known for elevating hip-hop in American culture.

After the jury read its verdict, defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo asked Judge Arun Subramanian to release Combs on bail.

However, the judge declined, meaning the hip hop mogul won’t go free while he awaits sentencing in his sex crimes case. Combs, 55, has been behind bars since his arrest in September.

His lawyers argued that the acquittal on racketeering and sex trafficking changed the legal landscape enough that he should be freed on US$1 million bond. Prosecutors said he remained a flight risk.

Judge Subramanian said the applicable law didn’t allow for Combs’ release at this point.

Among other reasons, the judge noted Combs’ violent history: “At trial, the defence conceded the defendant's violence in his personal relationships, saying it happened with Cassie and Jane.”

Combs has already served nine months behind bars, and as yet it's not clear when sentencing would happen.

His lawyers acknowledged that the Bad Boy Records founder, once famed for hosting lavish parties for the cultural elite in luxurious locales like the Hamptons and Saint-Tropez, was at times violent in his domestic relationships. But they said the sexual activity described by prosecutors was consensual.

The seven-week trial in Manhattan federal court exposed the inner workings of Combs' business empire and gave the 12-member jury an intimate look into his volatile romantic relationships with the rhythm and blues singer Casandra "Cassie" Ventura and a woman known in court by the pseudonym Jane.

Ventura sued Combs in November 2023 for sex trafficking, the first of dozens of civil lawsuits accusing him of abuse.

Combs, also known throughout his career as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy and once feted for turning artists like Notorious B.I.G. and Usher into stars, settled with Ventura for US$20 million.

He denied all wrongdoing.

At the trial, jurors saw surveillance footage from 2016 showing Combs kicking and dragging Ventura in the hallway of an InterContinental hotel in Los Angeles, where she said she was trying to leave a "Freak Off."

Jane later testified that Combs, in June 2024, attacked her and directed her to perform oral sex on a male entertainer, even though she told him she did not want to. That alleged attack took place a month after Combs apologised on social media for his 2016 attack of Ventura, footage of which had been broadcast on CNN.

According to prosecutors, physical violence was just one way Combs compelled Ventura and Jane to take part in the performances - an act of coercion they say amounts to sex trafficking because the male escorts were paid. Both women testified that he threatened to withhold financial support and to leak sexually explicit images of them if they refused to comply.

"The defendant used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted," prosecutor Christy Slavik said in her closing argument on Jun 26. "He doesn't take no for an answer."

Combs' defence lawyers argued that while Combs may have committed domestic violence in the context of volatile romantic partnerships, his conduct did not amount to sex trafficking.

They argued that Ventura and Jane were strong, independent women who voluntarily took part in the sexual performances because they wanted to please Combs.

Both women testified they spent time with Combs and took part in sexual performances after he beat them. Defence lawyers argued that Ventura and Jane were retrospectively accusing Combs of forcing their participation in the performances because they were jealous he was seeing other women.

"If he was charged with domestic violence, we wouldn't all be here," Combs' defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo said in his closing argument on Jun 27. "He did not do the things he's charged with."

RACKETEERING CONSPIRACY

Besides Ventura and Jane, jurors also heard testimony from Combs' former personal assistants who said their jobs included setting up hotel rooms for "Freak Offs" and buying their boss drugs.

An InterContinental security guard testified that Combs, in the presence of his chief of staff, paid him US$100,000 to hand over what he thought was the only copy of the surveillance tape of his attack on Ventura.

And Scott Mescudi, the rapper known as Kid Cudi, told jurors Combs was likely involved in an arson on his car after Combs found out he was romantically involved with Ventura.

According to prosecutors, those were all acts Combs and his associates undertook in furtherance of a racketeering conspiracy whose aim was, in part, to facilitate his abuse and keep evidence of his wrongdoing under wraps.

The defence argued Combs was a successful entrepreneur who used drugs recreationally, but kept his professional and personal lives separate.

Combs has been held in federal lockup in Brooklyn since his September 2024 arrest.