Sean “Diddy” Combs faces sentencing Friday in a sordid criminal case that could keep him locked up for years.
The rap mogul was found guilty in July for flying individuals across the country for sexual activities, violating the federal Mann Act, which addresses illegal transportation for illicit purposes.
A jury acquitted Combs, 55, of more serious racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges that could have put him away for life.
The prosecution argues he deserves more than 11 years behind bars for two counts of facilitating prostitution. However, Combs’ legal team is pushing for his immediate release, claiming the proposed lengthy sentence is excessively harsh compared to the offense.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, who will determine the penalty, has hinted that Combs’ freedom is not forthcoming. He has denied bail twice, and Combs has been detained in a federal facility in Brooklyn since his arrest last year.
The sentencing follows a trial lasting nearly two months, where women testified about being assaulted, threatened, and manipulated by Combs through various tactics.
A former partner, R&B singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, testified that Combs forced her into uncomfortable sexual situations with strangers multiple times over their decade-long relationship.
The jury repeatedly viewed video evidence of Combs assaulting Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel corridor after one of their prolonged sexual binges, termed “freak-offs” by Cassie during her testimony over four days.
A woman who testified under the pseudonym “Jane” told jurors she too was subjected to violence and felt obligated to perform sexually with male sex workers at drug-fueled “hotel nights” while Combs watched and sometimes filmed.
To support their racketeering case, prosecutors also brought on witnesses who testified about other violent acts. A former personal assistant testified that Combs raped her. One of Cassie’s friends told the jury Combs dangled her from a 17th floor balcony. The rapper Kid Cudi testified that Combs broke into his home after learning he and Cassie were dating.
Although the jury acquitted Combs of racketeering, the judge can still consider that testimony as he decides the sentence.
Subramanian is also considering letters submitted by Combs and some of his accusers.
In his letter to the judge Thursday, Combs promised he would never commit another crime if released, saying, “The old me died in jail and a new version of me was reborn.”
In her letter, Cassie called Combs a manipulative abuser who has “no interest in changing or becoming better.”
“He will always be the same cruel, power-hungry, manipulative man that he is,” she wrote.
A former personal assistant who said Combs raped her in 2010 asked Subramanian to deliver a sentence “that takes into account the ongoing danger my abuser poses to me, and to others.” The former assistant, who testified under the pseudonym “Mia,” is expected to speak at Friday’s sentencing.
Combs will address the court, according to court filings. His defense team is also planning to play a 15-minute video.
Combs’ lawyers say the sexual encounters were consensual and that being in jail has hastened Combs’ sobriety and forced him to learn from his misbehavior. They have said there is no need for him to remain behind bars because he has already been punished enough.
At a court hearing last week, Combs seemed buoyant, as he told his mother and children that he is “getting closer to going home.”
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