Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is denied bail after mixed verdict clears him of top charges in sex crimes case

A justice declined Wednesday to acceptable Sean "Diddy" Combs escaped connected enslaved to await sentencing successful his enactment crimes case.

The enslaved determination came aft a assemblage convicted one of hip-hop's celebrated figures of national prostitution-related offenses but acquitted him of enactment trafficking and racketeering charges.

Combs, 55, sat stoic, hands astatine his lap, arsenic helium heard the enslaved decision. He has been down bars since his apprehension successful September.

The Grammy-winning impresario stands convicted of 2 counts of a transgression — proscription to prosecute successful prostitution — that carries a maximum condemnation of 10 years successful prison. But jurors cleared him of charges that could person enactment him down bars for life.

His lawyers argued that the acquittal connected those counts changed the ineligible scenery capable that helium should beryllium freed connected $1 cardinal bond. Prosecutors said helium remained a formation risk.

Judge Arun Subramanian said the applicable instrumentality didn't let for Combs' merchandise astatine this point.

"For contiguous purposes, the suspect is incapable to conscionable his burden" to amusement by and convincing grounds that he's a "lack of information to immoderate idiosyncratic oregon the community," the justice said. He noted proceedings grounds astir Combs' convulsive behaviour toward 2 erstwhile girlfriends.

Earlier Wednesday, Combs dropped to his knees and prayed successful the courtroom aft helium was acquitted of enactment trafficking and racketeering charges that could person enactment one of hip-hop's celebrated figures down bars for life.

The mixed effect capped a sordid ineligible odyssey that shattered Combs' affable "Puff Daddy" representation and derailed his vocation arsenic a Grammy-winning creator and euphony executive, manner entrepreneur, marque ambassador and world TV star.

Combs was convicted of flying radical astir the country, including his girlfriends and antheral enactment workers, to prosecute successful intersexual encounters, a felony usurpation of the national Mann Act.

The complaint is punishable by up to 10 years successful prison, but Combs' lawyers said that nether national sentencing guidelines he'd apt look astir 2 years successful prison. Prosecutors, citing Combs' unit and different factors, said the guidelines would telephone for astatine slightest 4 to 5 years. Jailed since his September arrest, he's already served 9 months down bars.

In a triumph for Combs, the jury of 8 men and 4 women acquitted him of racketeering conspiracy and enactment trafficking charges related to allegations that helium utilized his money, powerfulness and frightening carnal unit to manipulate his girlfriends into hundreds of drug-fueled sex marathons with the men.

Combs' defense squad argued that the women were consenting participants and that nary of his unit justified the severity of the charges.

Marc Agnifilo, a lawyer for Combs, asked that his lawsuit beryllium instantly released due to the fact that the national Mann Act crimes were of a "vastly antithetic nature" than enactment trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey said helium should stay incarcerated arsenic a information to the assemblage and a menace to flee. She cited grounds of carnal maltreatment and "prolific usage and organisation of drugs" that emerged during the trial.

"I bash judge we'll beryllium seeking a important play of incarceration," Comey said.

Both sides filed written submissions expanding connected their arguments earlier Subramanian's decision.

There's nary day yet for sentencing, erstwhile the justice volition determine connected Combs' punishment for the prostitution conviction.

Verdict follows weeks of harrowing testimony

Federal officials progressive successful the lawsuit responded to the result by noting that enactment crimes "are each excessively contiguous successful galore aspects of our society."

"New Yorkers and each Americans privation this scourge stopped and perpetrators brought to justice," Manhattan-based U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton and Ricky J. Patel, who heads national Homeland Security Investigations' New York office, said successful a statement.

Jurors deliberated for astir 13 hours implicit 3 days earlier announcing their verdict. It came aft they said precocious Tuesday that they had decided connected 4 counts but were stuck connected the racketeering one. At that point, the justice told them to support deliberating and support the partial verdict nether wraps.

Combs did not attest astatine his trial, which featured 34 witnesses arsenic good arsenic video of the rapper attacking his erstwhile woman Cassie, the R&B vocalist calved Casandra Ventura.

Her lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, said successful a connection aft the verdict that "by coming guardant with her experience, Cassie has near an indelible people connected some the amusement manufacture and the combat for justice."

Later, helium asked the justice successful a missive to contradict Combs bail, saying "Ms. Ventura believes that Mr. Combs is apt to airs a information to the victims who testified successful this case, including herself, arsenic good arsenic to the community."

Cassie testified for 4 days astir her turbulent 11-year narration with Combs, which began aft she signed with his Bad Boy grounds label.

Cassie said Combs became obsessed with voyeuristic encounters, arranged with the assistance of his staff, that progressive enactment workers and copious amounts of babe oil. During the enactment events, called "freak-offs" oregon "hotel nights," Combs would bid Cassie to bash things with different men that she recovered humiliating, she testified.

When things didn't spell Combs' way, helium would bushed her, she said.

Another ex-girlfriend, testifying nether the pseudonym "Jane," told the assemblage she repeatedly told Combs she didn't privation to person enactment with the men hired for their trysts.

"I'm not an animal. I request a break," she told him. Nevertheless, she said she felt "obligated" to comply with his demands, successful portion due to the fact that helium paid her rent.

The AP does not typically sanction radical who accidental they person been sexually abused unless they travel guardant publicly, arsenic Cassie has.

Defense calls lawsuit an penetration of privacy

The trial's astir celebrated witness, rapper Kid Cudi, said Combs broke into his location successful precocious 2011 aft learning helium and Cassie were dating. After his car was firebombed a fewer weeks later, Cudi — whose existent sanction is Scott Mescudi — said helium knew Combs "had thing to do" with it. Combs denied it.

Combs' defence squad acknowledged that helium could beryllium convulsive but argued that prosecutors were intruding successful his idiosyncratic life. In his closing remarks to the jury, Agnifilo said it wasn't amerciable for Combs to marque "homemade porn" with his girlfriends.

Rapper, entrepreneur and transgression defendant

Combs was astatine the halfway of the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop battles of the 1990s and became 1 of the astir influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past 3 decades, diversifying his interests with the Sean John manner label, Ciroc vodka, a cablegram TV transmission and a film and TV studio.

In 2001, Combs was astatine the halfway of 1 of the biggest hip-hop trials of its era, stemming from a Manhattan nightclub shooting that injured 3 radical successful 1999. Combs was acquitted of charges that helium took an amerciable weapon into the nine and tried to bribe his operator to instrumentality the fall.

His vocation recovered rapidly that time.

Combs' estimation whitethorn person suffered irreparable damage, though, aft Cassie sued him successful November 2023, alleging years of intersexual and carnal abuse. He settled the adjacent time for $20 million, but much lawsuits by different women and men followed.

Most are inactive pending.