(NewsNation) — Sean “Diddy” Combs was sentenced to 4 years and two months behind bars Friday after he was convicted of two prostitution associated expenses, plus a superb of $500,000.
The music mogul was the middle of a months-long trial earlier this 12 months, which put his clout and superstar in focus round accusations of human trafficking and prostitution.
He was acquitted of bigger racketeering expenses however was convicted on two prostitution expenses associated to the Mann Act. He was dealing with a most penalty of 20 years behind bars.
Choose Arun Subramanian acknowledged the sentence was, “hard time in prison, away from your family, friends and community, but you will have a life afterward.”
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“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 mentioned.
“The evidence of abuse with respect to freak-offs and hotel nights is massive,” the choose additionally mentioned.
Combs stood as his sentence was learn. As he discovered his destiny, he turned to the gallery earlier than sitting again down on the protection desk.
“We all have voices, but you have a megaphone,” the choose informed Combs, saying he has an opportunity to point out the world what “real accountability” and alter could be. “I’m counting on you to make the most of your second chance.”
Diddy calls his conduct ‘disgusting, shameful, sick’
Combs addressed the court docket for the primary time Friday forward of the choose’s sentencing announcement.
“I wish to thanks for lastly giving me an opportunity to talk up for myself. One of many hardest issues I’ve needed to deal with is to be quiet, not capable of specific how sorry I’m for my actions,” he mentioned.
He apologized to a number of folks, together with ex-partner Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, her household, the lady who testified below the pseudonym “Jane” and all victims of home 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 additionally mentioned. “And I take full accountability and responsibility.”
Combs mentioned he was raised higher by his mom and his religion, and, partly, blamed drug abuse for his actions.
He cried as he apologized to his mom, saying, “I failed you as a son. You taught me better. You raised me better.”
The music mogul mentioned his popularity and profession have been destroyed, “however most of all, I misplaced my self-respect.”
“I’ve been stripped right down to nothing.”
Combs mentioned he let down the Black neighborhood, 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 would like your honor to know that, if given an opportunity, folks can change. I do know I’ve modified,” he continued.
Combs mentioned he has been rehabilitated after 13 months in jail after his arrest final 12 months. He requested the choose for “mercy” and mentioned he would adjust to no matter circumstances the choose would set when he’s launched.
“I can’t change the previous however I can change the long run. I ask your honor for mercy. I encourage your honor for mercy. I ask your honor for an opportunity to be a father once more… a son once more… a frontrunner in my neighborhood once more… for an opportunity to get the assistance that I desperately have to be a greater individual as a result of I don’t wish to let God down, I don’t wish to let my household down,” Combs mentioned.
As he wrapped up his ideas, Combs requested the choose 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.”
Choose was thirteenth juror: Diddy’s lawyer
Following the sentence, Combs’ lawyer 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 mentioned.
“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 youngsters ask for ‘superhero’ dad to be launched
His oldest son, Quincy Brown, informed the choose Friday that his father has been reworked.
Justin Combs additionally urged that his father’s life had been saved by his time in jail as a result of he stopped utilizing medicine and alcohol.
“My father is my superhero. Seeing him broken down and stripped of everything is something I will never forget,” Justin Combs mentioned.
The practice daughters of Sean “Diddy” Combs, arrive at Federal Courtroom, in New York, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (AP Picture/Richard Drew)
Quincy Brown, Likelihood Combs, D’lila Combs and Jessie, the kids of Sean “Diddy” Combs, arrives to the Manhattan federal court docket for the sentencing of Sean “Diddy” Combs in New York, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (AP Picture/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Justin Combs, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ son, arrives at Federal Courtroom, in New York, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (AP Picture/Richard Drew)
Janice Combs, mom of Sean “Diddy” Combs, arrives to the Manhattan federal court docket for the sentencing of Sean “Diddy” Combs in New York, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (AP Picture/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Janice Combs, mom of Sean “Diddy” Combs, arrives to the Manhattan federal court docket for the sentencing of Sean “Diddy” Combs in New York, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (AP Picture/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
On this courtroom sketch, D’Lila Combs, left heart, makes a press release surrounded by household as Sean Diddy Combs, proper, reacts throughout his sentencing listening to in Manhattan federal court docket, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams through AP)
On this courtroom sketch, Sean Diddy Combs reacts as he makes a press release throughout his sentencing listening to in Manhattan federal court docket, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams through AP)
Christian Combs implored the choose to free his father.
“Please give my family grace. Please let my father out,” he mentioned. “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 mentioned, 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 protection workforce argues ‘self-punishment’ is sufficient
The protection workforce started by arguing that the regulation used to cost Combs shouldn’t apply to him as a result of he didn’t earn a living off his actions.
His workforce additionally pointed to his profession and mentioned he has been an inspiration for the Black neighborhood. Nicole Westmoreland spoke of his affect on her personal life and the way it inspired her to observe her personal profession targets.
“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 mentioned. “But judge, how many of us can say that we helped so many lives, countless lives?”
FILE – Sean “Diddy” Combs sits courtside within the second half of an NBA basketball sport between the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Knicks, March 12, 2017, in New York. (AP Picture/Kathy Willens, File)
Protection lawyer Brian Metal spoke about trauma and Combs’ historical past of his father’s loss of life when he was three, leaving his mom to boost him alone. He urged the choose to think about the affect 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,” Metal mentioned. “Mr. Combs does not need any additional time in custody. That is not the way we treat” drug dependancy and trauma right now.
Metal referred to as Combs a “civil rights leader,” saying his good deeds have outweighed his dangerous, “by far.”
Prosecutors wished 11 years for Diddy
Prosecutors requested for an 11-year, three-month sentence, arguing it appropriately mirrored the conduct and is according to different comparable instances.
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“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 mentioned.
“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 offer Combs vital time in jail could be tantamount to letting him get away with years of home violence.
Prosecutors additionally alleged Combs had scheduled a talking engagement for subsequent week, anticipating his freedom in what Slavik referred to as “the height of hubris.”
Slavik additionally highlighted testimony from an nameless ex-girlfriend who mentioned Combs abused her even after he knew he was already below investigation.
After the protection attorneys and witnesses had their say, Slavik obtained an opportunity to reply. 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 person dedicated to serving to others, studying from the sufferer affect assertion from Ventura.
Studying from the letter, Slavik mentioned Ventura nonetheless has common flashbacks and nightmares about Combs’ abuse: “My experience was real, horrific, and deserves to be considered,” Ventura wrote.
Diddy requested choose for leniency in letter to the court docket
The evening earlier than sentencing, Combs submitted a letter to Subramanian. Within the letter, he mentioned he takes duty for his previous actions and is asking for one more probability.
Prosecutors slammed the letter, saying it painted Combs as a sufferer and never somebody taking duty for his conduct.
What lies forward for Diddy?
Combs has been in a New York Metropolis jail for the final 13 months since he was arrested at a resort in Manhattan final 12 months.
The fees — two counts of transportation to have interaction in prostitution below the Mann Act — carried a most sentence of 10 years in jail per depend. He was acquitted of the extra critical expenses of racketeering and intercourse trafficking.
Although an extended appeals path seemingly stays for Combs, his sentencing brings an finish to the felony proceedings the music mogul grew to become entrenched in since two of his properties have been raided by federal brokers in March 2024.
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Prosecutors and protection attorneys introduced a stark divide over how a lot time they consider Combs ought to have gotten behind bars.
Federal prosecutors argued Combs ought to get a minimal of 11 years in jail, saying the music mogul is “unrepentant” and that his accusers proceed to dwell in worry of him.
Sean “Diddy” Combs blows kisses to folks within the viewers throughout his intercourse trafficking and racketeering trial in Manhattan federal court docket on Could 19, 2025, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams through AP)
In a submitting Tuesday, prosecutors mentioned the music producer is “not the victim” and that the choose “ought to deal with the very actual results that the defendant’s conduct had on the lives of the particular victims, his victims.”
At trial, two of Combs’ former girlfriends testified that they felt compelled to take part within the drug-fueled intercourse events with male intercourse staff as Combs watched and typically filmed.
Protection attorneys have argued that Combs needs to be given not more than a 14-month sentence, telling Subramanian that the time the music producer has already served in jail has been ample punishment.
They referred to as the prosecution’s beneficial sentence of 11 years “draconian” in a submitting 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 brand new trial earlier this week, saying prosecutors “proved their case many times over.”
Diddy’s accusers submit affect statements to the choose
Combs’ former companion singer, Ventura, was the prosecution’s star witness at trial.
She submitted a sufferer affect assertion forward of the sentencing, asking the choose to think about her trauma and fears when making a call.
Cassie Ventura, proper, walks out of the courtroom previous Sean Diddy Combs after testifying in Manhattan federal court docket on Could 13, 2025, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams through AP)”
“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, including, “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 solely below the pseudonym “Mia,” additionally submitted a letter after she testified that she was sexually assaulted by the music producer a number of occasions.
“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 affect assertion submitted to the court docket.
Diddy’s supporters submit letters asking for leniency
Virginia Huynh, who was known as “Victim 3” in Combs’ indictment, wrote in a letter to the choose that Combs deserves to be launched. She additionally contends that she was by no means intercourse trafficked by Combs and was as a substitute 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 Iexpressed 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 meant to name Huynh to testify at his trial, however days earlier than it started, they informed the choose they’d been unable to succeed in her. In her letter, she wrote that she was not requested to speak her assist for Combs.
A person named Shamoy Allen, who mentioned Combs was his mentor, referred to as him “a family man at his core” in a letter requesting his launch.
“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 elements went into Diddy’s sentencing?
How a lot time Combs will get will depend upon a number of elements, together with federal sentencing pointers, whether or not he’s been rehabilitated and the character of the crime he’s been convicted of.
The choose will begin by reviewing the sentencing pointers after which calculate the jail time from there, Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, informed NewsNation.
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From the prosecution’s perspective, they begin with the bottom offense stage, and so they begin including particular enhancements that may add time, he mentioned.
Enhancements prosecutors can argue are that there are a number of victims, that he was the supervisor of this prostitution scheme and in addition that he obstructed justice when he allegedly tried to dissuade witnesses from testifying, Rahmani mentioned.
Combs’ workforce will argued for much less time, utilizing mitigating elements, Tre Lovell, an leisure lawyer, mentioned.
“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 mentioned.
They argued that he’s already suffered and that the crime isn’t the standard type of prostitution that’s prosecuted.
FILE – Legal professional Marc Agnifilo arrives to the courthouse in New York, Monday, Could 12, 2025. (AP Picture/Seth Wenig, File)
Federal probation workplace compiled report for Diddy’s sentencing
Previous to sentencing, the choose obtained sentencing suggestions from prosecutors, protection attorneys but additionally the probation workplace.
That workplace has been conducting its personal investigation so as to current its report.
That report relies 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 mentioned.
“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 mentioned.
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Probation officers usually converse to relations, victims and others who could also be concerned, he mentioned. This helps them collect details about what might occur if Combs is placed on supervised launch, for instance, Rahmani mentioned.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
