Jury clears Diddy of trafficking in mixed verdict
Sean “Diddy” Combs has fallen to his knees and buried his face in a chair after learning of a mixed verdict in his two-month criminal trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
A New York jury on Thursday (AEST) found the hip-hop artist guilty of the lesser prostitution-related offences while clearing him of the more serious charges that could have led to life in jail.
It was a blow to prosecutors who had urged the jury to find the billionaire guilty of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking.
After the judge dismissed the jury and lawyers for both sides, Combs knelt before his chair and appeared to pray.
Combs then rose and faced the courtroom gallery.
“I’m gonna be home soon,” he said, smiling and clasping his hands.
“I love you. Thank you, I love you.”
Combs’ family and supporters erupted into applause and cheers.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs thanked the jurors. Photo: AAP
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Combs’ lawyers and supporters had hoped he could walk from prison after 10 months if the judge released him on bond while awaiting sentencing.
However, the request to return to his Florida home was denied.
The verdict followed a criminal trial in which two of the music mogul’s former girlfriends testified that he physically and sexually abused them.
Combs faces a maximum 10-year prison sentence on each of the two prostitution counts.
He could have faced life in prison if he was convicted on sex trafficking or racketeering conspiracy.
US District Judge Arun Subramanian will determine Combs’ sentence at a later date.
After the jury read its verdict, defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo asked Subramanian to release Combs on bail, which prosecutors opposed.
Subramanian asked lawyers for both sides to submit written arguments on whether he should release Combs by 1pm (US time).
Combs has been held in federal lockup in Brooklyn since his September 2024 arrest.
Combs’ family left the courthouse to chants of “love, love, love,” from Combs’ supporters.
The singer’s mother, Janice Combs, waves as she leaves the federal courthouse. Photo: AAP
During his career, Combs’ stage monikers included Love, Puff Daddy and P Diddy.
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The trial focused on prosecutors’ allegations that Combs, for two decades, used his business empire to force two of his romantic partners to take part in drug-fueled, days-long sexual performances sometimes known as “freak offs” with male sex workers in hotel rooms while Combs watched and occasionally filmed.
During the seven-week trial in Manhattan federal court, jurors saw some of the 1000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant authorities found during searches of his homes, which prosecutors said he would use in the performances.
They also heard testimony from two of Combs’ former girlfriends, the rhythm and blues singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and a woman known in court by the pseudonym Jane, who said Combs beat them and pressured them to take part in the performances.
Combs, 55, had pleaded not guilty to all five counts.
His lawyers acknowledged that the Bad Boy Records founder, once famed for hosting lavish parties for the cultural elite in luxurious locales like the Hamptons and Saint-Tropez, was at times violent in his domestic relationships.
But they said the sexual activity described by prosecutors was consensual, and accused prosecutors of trying to criminalise Combs’ private sex life.
They argued that Ventura and Jane were strong, independent women who voluntarily took part in the sexual performances because they wanted to please Combs.
Both women testified they spent time with Combs and took part in sexual performances after he beat them.
Defence lawyers argued that Ventura and Jane were retrospectively accusing Combs of forcing their participation in the performances because they were jealous he was seeing other women.
“If he was charged with domestic violence, we wouldn’t all be here,” Combs’ defence lawyer Agnifilo said in his closing argument on June 27.
“He did not do the things he’s charged with.”
Combs was convicted of transportation to engage in prostitution related to both Ventura and Jane.
Those charges required prosecutors to prove that Combs paid the male escorts for sex, and arranged for their travel across state lines.
Prosecutors had argued that Combs’ conduct as to both women amounted to sex trafficking because he compelled Ventura and Jane to take part in the performances using physical violence and threats to withhold financial support or leak sexually explicit images of them.
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-with AAP
