…after salacious trial exposed mogul’s reign of terror
Hip-hop icon Sean “Diddy” Combs was sentenced to more than four years in prison Friday — a paltry term compared to the 11 years sought by prosecutors after a blockbuster, stomach-churning sex crimes trial exposed the mogul’s depraved secrets.
The emotional, nearly six-hour sentencing hearing on prostitution charges in Manhattan federal court closed with Judge Arun Subramanian condemning Combs’ horrific abuse of victims Cassie Ventura and an influencer known as “Jane.”
“You abused them, physically, emotionally and psychologically,” Judge Arun Subramanian told Combs before heading down the sentence of 50 months.
“Why did it happen for so long? Because you had the power and resources to keep it going, and because you didn’t get caught,” Subramanian said.
“A meaningful sentence is needed to protect the public for further crimes.”
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An image collage containing 2 images, Image 1 shows Sean “Diddy” Combs attends Invest Fest, Image 2 shows Illustration of Sean “Diddy” Combs at his sex trafficking trial in New York, with images of bruises on display in front of jurors
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Combs likely will spend only three more years in a federal lockup, as he has already been behind bars for 14 months.
His sentence is also shorter than the roughly six-to-seven-year term recommended under federal guidelines, as well as the more than 11 years sought by prosecutors.
But it’s also a far cry from the 14-month, time-served sentence his high-powered defense team had argued he deserved.
The highly anticipated sentencing unfolded in the same courtroom where jurors found Combs, 55, guilty of prostitution charges in July after two harrowing months of testimony delving into his twisted, violent and baby oil-drenched private life.
Combs, clad in a wrinkled oatmeal sweater and donning black reading glasses, stood up and read a lengthy statement, apologizing to Ventura — his longtime ex-girlfriend — and “Jane,” but otherwise spent most of his 12-minute address focused on himself.
He begged the judge for “another chance” and vowed that he was a changed man.
“My domestic violence will always be a heavy burden that I will forever have to carry,” he said.
“I’m not this larger-than-life person; I’m just a human being. I’ve been trying my best. I got lost in excess; I got lost in my ego.”
Combs, after learning his sentence, turned to his family gathered in the courtroom and put his left hand up to his eyes.
The prison sentence was welcomed by Ventura’s lawyers Douglas Wigdor and Meredith Firetog.
“While nothing can undo the trauma caused by Combs, the sentence imposed today recognizes the impact of the serious offenses he committed,” the lawyers said in a statement. “We are confident that with the support of her family and friends, Ms. Ventura will continue healing knowing that her bravery and fortitude have been an inspiration to so many.”
Jurors found Combs not guilty on July 2 of sex trafficking and racketeering — the top charges that had carried a maximum sentence of life in prison.
After he was convicted of the lesser raps, the judge ordered that he remain locked up in a hellish federal prison until his sentencing, despite attempts by his lawyers to spring him on bail.
The Harlem native had once stood atop the music world, growing his Bad Boy Records label into an empire worth nearly $1 billion, starred in movies and hosted lavish, celebrity-packed “white parties” in luxurious locales such as the Hamptons.
But the behind the glitzy facade, Combs harbored a dark side — one that burst into public view when Ventura filed a bombshell November 2023 lawsuit accusing him of viciously beating her throughout their decade-long relationship.
Ventura also revealed that Combs nurtured a perverted proclivity for “freak-offs” — grueling, drug-fueled romps accompanied with copious amounts of baby oil in which he watched her have sex with male escorts.
Combs quickly paid Ventura $20 million to settle the case, but her lawsuit opened the floodgates for sickeningly similar accusations against him — and a fateful federal criminal probe.
After dramatic raids on Combs’ mansions in Miami and Beverly Hills, he was eventually indicted and arrested in September 2024 on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and prostitution.
The trial began in May, with a gray-haired, grandpa sweater-wearing Combs — who had been a snazzy fashion plate before his downfall — being carted daily from Brooklyn’s notorious Metropolitan Detention Center.
Combs did not testify during the headline-grabbing trial, which drew scores of observers to the courtroom, including the mogul’s mother, children, and supporters such as fellow disgraced rapper Kanye West.
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Prosecutors called 34 witnesses as they painted Combs as the kingpin of a criminal crew that plotted a slew of crimes over two decades, including setting Kid Cudi’s Porsche on fire.
The rapper, real name Scott Mescudi, took the stand, as did a constellation of Combs’ former assistants, ex-girlfriends and escorts hired to perform in the “freak-offs.”
Combs controlled every aspect of the marathon sex sessions, demanding his lovers apply copious amounts of baby oil and plying them with ecstasy so they could stay awake, witnesses testified.
But it was arguably Ventura’s testimony that proved the most heart-rending.
Ventura, who took the stand for four days while nine months pregnant, recounted in excruciating detail how Combs beat her for years and pressured her into hundreds of humiliating freak-off “performances” with male sex workers.
The “All About The Benjamins” singer even threatened to release tapes of the “freak-offs” if she stopped participating, Ventura testified.
“I feared for my career. I feared for my family. It’s just embarrassing. It’s horrible and disgusting. No one should do that to anyone,” she testified.
Combs maintained his innocence, as his lawyers argued that the women consented to the encounters and contended feds improperly criminalized his “swinger” lifestyle.
But the judge disagreed.
“You used that abuse to get your way, especially when it came to ‘freak offs’ or ‘hotel nights,” he said.
The mogul was guilty of domestic abuse, but not the sex crimes he was charged with, his lawyers argued.
He was convicted of two Mann Act Transportation counts — a federal law making it a crime to transport someone across state lines for prostitution.
New York Post
