USA TODAY reporter explains ‘Diddy’ verdict
USA TODAY’s Aisha Bagchi breaks down the 50-month prison sentence of hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was convicted in a landmark federal sex crimes case.
Sean “Diddy” Combs and his attorneys are appealing to the Court of Appeals to vacate his prostitution conviction and prison sentence.
Lawyers for the hip-hop mogul said in court papers that U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, who oversaw the sex crimes trial, should not have considered evidence of abuse and threats against his ex-girlfriend when sentencing Combs last October.
On Thursday, defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro doubled down, arguing that judges should not be allowed to consider conduct related to the crime for which a defendant was acquitted when determining sentencing.
“This case raises important questions of respect for jury verdicts and the public’s confidence in our criminal justice system,” Shapiro said on April 9 in the Manhattan-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, during an appeal of Combs’ conviction and four years and two months in prison.
Mr. Combs is serving his sentence at a maximum-security federal prison in Fort Dix, New Jersey.
What was Diddy convicted of?
The seven-week trial in Manhattan federal court last year centered on several days of drug-fueled sex acts (also known as “freak-offs”) between Combs’ two ex-girlfriends and a male sex worker. Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, was found guilty by a jury on July 2 of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
But jurors acquitted him of more serious sex trafficking and extortion charges for allegedly forcing his two ex-girlfriends, R&B/pop singer Cassandra Ventura and a woman known in court by the pseudonym Jane, to watch and sometimes film him masturbating.
Shapiro argued in court papers that Combs’ prostitution conviction should be vacated because she watched her ex-girlfriends have sex with escorts and did not participate.
Shapiro said the judge should not have considered evidence that Combs threatened to release explicit videos of Ventura and cut off Jane’s rent payments in deciding the sentence.
Will Didi be released?
If Combs has his way, he could be released on appeal. However, the prosecution has rejected the defense’s claims as “groundless” and has objected. According to CNN.
Prosecutor Christy Slavik will present her case after Mr. Shapiro.
Slavik said in court documents that Subramanian was right to consider evidence of Combs’ threats and abuse of his ex-girlfriend because even if he was acquitted of sex trafficking, the acts were related to prostitution charges.
“According to Combs, the district court should have turned a blind eye to how he perpetrated the Mann Act violation and abused his victims,” Slavik wrote, referring to a federal law that criminalizes transportation to engage in prostitution.
How long has P. Diddy been in prison?
Combs admitted to abusing his ex-girlfriend. But he said the so-called domestic violence incident was separate from the sexual act at issue in the case, which was consensual.
Combs has been in prison for more than a year and a half since his arrest on September 16, 2024. He is currently scheduled for release on April 15, 2028, according to Bureau of Prisons records.
Contributor: Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY
