Diddy sentenced to more than 4 years behind bars

(NewsNation) — Sean “Diddy” Combs was sentenced to four years and two months behind bars Friday after he was convicted of two prostitution related charges, plus a fine of $500,000.

The music mogul was the center of a months-long trial earlier this year, which put his clout and celebrity in focus around accusations of human trafficking and prostitution. 

He was acquitted of larger racketeering charges but was convicted on two prostitution charges related to the Mann Act. He was facing a maximum penalty of 20 years behind bars.

Judge Arun Subramanian stated the sentence was, “hard time in prison, away from your family, friends and community, but you will have a life afterward.”

“Mr. Combs, you’re being sentenced for the offenses of conviction, NOT the crimes he was acquitted of. However, under law, the court ‘shall consider’ the nature of the offense and characteristics of the defendant,” he said.

“The evidence of abuse with respect to freak-offs and hotel nights is massive,” the judge also said.

Combs stood as his sentence was read. As he learned his fate, he turned to the gallery before sitting back down at the defense table.

“We all have voices, but you have a megaphone,” the judge told Combs, saying he has a chance to show the world what “real accountability” and change can be. “I’m counting on you to make the most of your second chance.”

Diddy calls his behavior ‘disgusting, shameful, sick’

Combs addressed the court for the first time Friday ahead of the judge's sentencing announcement.

“I want to thank you for finally giving me a chance to speak up for myself. One of the hardest things I’ve had to handle is to be quiet, not able to express how sorry I am for my actions," he said.

He apologized to multiple people, including ex-partner Casandra "Cassie" Ventura, her family, the woman who testified under the pseudonym "Jane" and all victims of domestic violence.

“My actions were disgusting, shameful, sick. I was sick," Combs said. “I’m not this larger-than-life person. I’m just a human being. ... I got lost in excess. I got lost in my ego.”

“I have nobody to blame but myself. I know I’ll never put my hands on another person again. I know that I have learned my lesson,” Combs also said. “And I take full accountability and responsibility.”

Combs said he was raised better by his mother and his faith, and, in part, blamed drug abuse for his actions.

He cried as he apologized to his mother, saying, “I failed you as a son. You taught me better. You raised me better.”

The music mogul said his reputation and career have been destroyed, "but most of all, I lost my self-respect.”

"I’ve been stripped down to nothing.”

Combs said he let down the Black community, which he aimed to serve, saying, “That was my mission. I got lost. I’m not this bad person. I’m sorry to my community for letting you all down.”

“I want your honor to know that, if given a chance, people can change. I know I’ve changed," he continued.

Combs said he has been rehabilitated after 13 months in jail after his arrest last year. He asked the judge for "mercy" and said he would comply with whatever conditions the judge would set when he is released.

“I can’t change the past but I can change the future. I ask your honor for mercy. I beg your honor for mercy. I ask your honor for a chance to be a father again... a son again... a leader in my community again... for a chance to get the help that I desperately need to be a better person because I don’t want to let God down, I don’t want to let my family down," Combs said.

As he wrapped up his thoughts, Combs asked the judge for leniency.

“I know the prosecution wants you to make an example of me. I just want you to think of making an example of what a person can do if they get another chance. If you give me another chance, I won’t let you down. And the evidence of that is those beautiful children that got up there and spoke for me.”

Judge was 13th juror: Diddy's lawyer

Following the sentence, Combs' attorney Marc Agnifilo addressed the media.

"The jury's verdict was resoundingly clear. There was no sex trafficking, there was no racketeering, everything was consensual, everything was adult, which is why he was only convicted of the prostitution offense," he said.

"What we feel happened today was that the judge acted as the 13th juror one that we did not choose and that he second-guessed the jury's verdict." 

Diddy's children ask for 'superhero' dad to be released

His oldest son, Quincy Brown, told the judge Friday that his father has been transformed.

Justin Combs also suggested that his father's life had been saved by his time in jail because he stopped using drugs and alcohol.

“My father is my superhero. Seeing him broken down and stripped of everything is something I will never forget,” Justin Combs said.

Christian Combs implored the judge to free his father.

“Please give my family grace. Please let my father out,” he said. “Please give him mercy."

“We are tired of being strong. We have already lost so much. We have lost our mother, we have lost time with our father, and every day he remains incarcerated, we lose more and more. Please, your honor, please,” daughter D’Lila Combs said, crying, “give our family the chance to heal together, to rebuild, to change, to move forward, not as a headline, but as human beings. We’re trying to do better.”

Diddy's defense team argues 'self-punishment' is enough

The defense team began by arguing that the law used to charge Combs should not apply to him because he did not make money off his actions.

His team also pointed to his career and said he has been an inspiration for the Black community. Nicole Westmoreland spoke of his impact on her own life and how it encouraged her to follow her own career goals.

“Mr. Combs is not larger than life. He’s a human being. And he’s made some mistakes. He has flaws, like we all do,” Westmoreland said. “But judge, how many of us can say that we helped so many lives, countless lives?”

Defense attorney Brian Steel spoke about trauma and Combs' history of his father's death when he was three, leaving his mother to raise him alone. He urged the judge to consider the impact of untreated trauma and Combs' drug abuse.

Combs “has punished himself more than anyone will be able to punish him and it will stay with him for the rest of his days,” Steel said. “Mr. Combs does not need any additional time in custody. That is not the way we treat” drug addiction and trauma today.

Steel called Combs a "civil rights leader," saying his good deeds have outweighed his bad, "by far."

Prosecutors wanted 11 years for Diddy

Prosecutors asked for an 11-year, three-month sentence, arguing it appropriately reflected the conduct and is in line with other similar cases.

“Today is about accountability and justice. Accountability for the defendant, who committed serious federal crimes repeatedly over the course of 15 years, and justice for the public, including for the victims, whose lives have been shattered,” prosecutor Christy Slavik said.

“It’s a case about a man who did horrible things to real people to satisfy his own sexual gratification,” she added. “He didn’t need the money. His currency was control.”

Slavik argued that failing to give Combs significant time in prison would be tantamount to letting him get away with years of domestic violence.

Prosecutors also alleged Combs had scheduled a speaking engagement for next week, anticipating his freedom in what Slavik called "the height of hubris."

Slavik also highlighted testimony from an anonymous ex-girlfriend who said Combs abused her even after he knew he was already under investigation.

After the defense lawyers and witnesses had their say, Slavik got a chance to respond. She retorted that Combs “is a master puppeteer of his own image. … but that image is incomplete, and it’s misleading.”

Slavik rejected the message that Combs was a man devoted to helping others, reading from the victim impact statement from Ventura.

Reading from the letter, Slavik said Ventura still has regular flashbacks and nightmares about Combs’ abuse: “My experience was real, horrific, and deserves to be considered,” Ventura wrote.

Diddy asked judge for leniency in letter to the court

The night before sentencing, Combs submitted a letter to Subramanian. In the letter, he said he takes responsibility for his past actions and is asking for another chance.

Prosecutors slammed the letter, saying it painted Combs as a victim and not someone taking responsibility for his behavior.

What lies ahead for Diddy?

Combs has been in a New York City jail for the last 13 months since he was arrested at a hotel in Manhattan last year.

The charges — two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution under the Mann Act — carried a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison per count.  He was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking.

Though a long appeals path likely remains for Combs, his sentencing brings an end to the criminal proceedings the music mogul became entrenched in since two of his homes were raided by federal agents in March 2024. 

Prosecutors and defense attorneys presented a stark divide over how much time they believe Combs should have gotten behind bars.

Federal prosecutors argued Combs should get a minimum of 11 years in prison, saying the music mogul is “unrepentant” and that his accusers continue to live in fear of him.

In a filing Tuesday, prosecutors said the music producer is "not the victim" and that the judge "should focus on the very real effects that the defendant’s conduct had on the lives of the actual victims, his victims.”

At trial, two of Combs’ former girlfriends testified that they felt forced to participate in the drug-fueled sex parties with male sex workers as Combs watched and sometimes filmed.

Defense attorneys have argued that Combs should be given no more than a 14-month sentence, telling Subramanian that the time the music producer has already served in jail has been adequate punishment.

They called the prosecution's recommended sentence of 11 years "draconian" in a filing Thursday.

"Instead of accepting the verdict and advocating a reasonable sentence, the government has gone to extreme lengths to try to justify a draconian sentence, particularly for a 55-year-old man," they wrote.

"Instead of addressing the conduct for which Mr. Combs was convicted, the government has devoted 161 pages to rehashing evidence rejected by the jury and concocting far-fetched legal arguments to try to jack up the guidelines range to an absurd 360-life level—as if he had been convicted not only of the acquitted charges, but also other uncharged offenses."

Subramanian denied Combs’ motions for acquittal and a new trial earlier this week, saying prosecutors “proved their case many times over.” 

Diddy's accusers submit impact statements to the judge

Combs' former partner singer, Ventura, was the prosecution's star witness at trial.

She submitted a victim impact statement ahead of the sentencing, asking the judge to consider her trauma and fears when making a decision.

"I still have nightmares and flashbacks on a regular, everyday basis, and continue to require psychological care to cope with my past," she wrote. "My worries that Sean Combs or his associates will come after me and my family is my reality," she wrote, adding, "as much progress as I have made in recovering from his abuse, I remain very much afraid of what he is capable of and the malice he undoubtedly harbors towards me for having the bravery to tell the truth."

Combs' former assistant, referred only under the pseudonym “Mia,” also submitted a letter after she testified that she was sexually assaulted by the music producer several times. 

"Although the verdict fell short of the justice I had hoped for, the defendant was still found guilty of serious crimes. What he stole from me cannot be returned—it cannot be reduced to years or money. He stole my freedom, my sense of safety, my ability to trust myself and others, and my confidence," Mia wrote in an impact statement submitted to the court.

Diddy's supporters submit letters asking for leniency

Virginia Huynh, who was referred to as "Victim 3" in Combs' indictment, wrote in a letter to the judge that Combs deserves to be released. She also contends that she was never sex trafficked by Combs and was instead pressured by prosecutors.

"I felt pressured to feel like a victim. I told them I was not, but they insisted that I was, even when I
expressed my truth otherwise," she wrote. "I was not trafficked. I did not engage in prostitution with him or others. That would have been my testimony if called to the stand."

Prosecutors intended to call Huynh to testify at his trial, but days before it began, they told the judge they had been unable to reach her. In her letter, she wrote that she was not asked to communicate her support for Combs.

An individual named Shamoy Allen, who said Combs was his mentor, called him "a family man at his core" in a letter requesting his release.

"His presence in their lives is irreplaceable, and I believe his best path forward is alongside them—continuing to grow, guide, and live out the values he holds dear," he wrote. "Mr. Combs has also shown through his work and actions how deeply committed he is to his community."

What factors went into Diddy’s sentencing? 

How much time Combs gets will depend on several factors, including federal sentencing guidelines, whether he’s been rehabilitated and the nature of the crime he’s been convicted of.

The judge will start by reviewing the sentencing guidelines and then calculate the prison time from there, Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, told NewsNation. 

From the prosecution’s perspective, they start with the base offense level, and they start adding specific enhancements that will add time, he said. 

Enhancements prosecutors can argue are that there are multiple victims, that he was the supervisor of this prostitution scheme and also that he obstructed justice when he allegedly tried to dissuade witnesses from testifying, Rahmani said. 

Combs' team will argued for less time, using mitigating factors, Tre Lovell, an entertainment attorney, said. 

“Diddy’s defense team is arguing that he’s a new man, he stopped drinking after 25 years, he’s been teaching other inmates skills, he’s been a model inmate, he has a different outlook on life, and he’s a new man,” Lovell said. 

They argued that he’s already suffered and that the crime is not the typical form of prostitution that is prosecuted. 

Federal probation office compiled report for Diddy’s sentencing

Prior to sentencing, the judge received sentencing recommendations from prosecutors, defense attorneys but also the probation office. 

That office has been conducting its own investigation in order to present its report.

That report is based upon the “crime, previous offenses, the type of person he is, the facts underlying the crime and whether or not there’s any rehabilitation that’s possible,” Lovell said. 

“It’s kind of a neutral reporting in the sense that neither the prosecution nor the defense are providing it to the probation offices,” he said. 

Probation officers typically speak to family members, victims and others who may be involved, he said. This helps them gather information about what could happen if Combs is put on supervised release, for example, Rahmani said. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.