Sean “Diddy” Combs has been found guilty on two of five federal charges, concluding a closely watched trial that featured testimony from former partners and associates alleging years of abuse and coercion.
A New York jury of eight men and four women found Combs guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution involving Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and another woman identified as “Jane.” He was acquitted on three other counts, including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges. Jurors deliberated for 13 hours over three days before delivering the split verdict.
Combs, who has been held in a Brooklyn federal detention facility since his September 2024 arrest, was denied bail again on Wednesday, July 2nd. Judge Arun Subramanian cited Combs’s “disregard for the rule of law and a propensity of violence” in the ruling. Sentencing is set for October 3rd, 2025, though the judge indicated the date could be moved up at the defense’s request.
Each count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years, but prosecutors are seeking 4–5 years under federal guidelines, while Combs’s defense expects a sentence closer to two years considering time already served.
As he was led back to jail, Combs told his family in court, “I’ll see you when I get out. We’re going to get through this.” Outside the courthouse, his lawyer Marc Agnifilo called the split verdict a “great victory,” telling reporters, “Today is a victory of all victories. The jury got the situation right—or certainly right enough.”
The seven-week trial featured 34 witnesses, including Cassie Ventura, “Jane,” former assistants, and public figures such as Kid Cudi and Dawn Richard. Ventura described years of alleged abuse, blackmail, and instances of “freak-offs” involving escorts and drugs, supported by 2016 surveillance footage showing Combs attacking her.
“Jane” testified she was pressured into sexual acts due to financial dependence, while a former assistant, “Mia,” alleged physical and sexual assault, though the defense challenged her credibility with social media posts praising Combs after the allegations surfaced.
Combs’s defense maintained that all sexual encounters were consensual within a “swingers lifestyle” and argued witnesses were motivated by financial interests. The team did not call witnesses but focused on cross-examinations and submitted text evidence to challenge inconsistencies.
Prosecutors argued Combs ran a criminal enterprise since 2004, using power and intimidation to coerce women while engaging in sex trafficking, bribery, kidnapping, and forced labour. In closing, they described Combs as a figure who leveraged fear and violence to control those around him.
Combs still faces multiple civil lawsuits tied to sexual assault allegations, even as the criminal trial concludes with a mixed verdict. Public reactions have been divided, with some in the courtroom gallery clapping as the verdict was read.
Source: The Guardian.
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