Sean “Diddy” Combs has been sentenced to four years, or 50 months, in prison after he was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He has already served 12 months in jail, which counts toward his sentence. Combs is expected to file an appeal immediately.
After the July verdict, Combs’ lawyers filed multiple motions for acquittal and requested that he be sentenced to 14 months, which, given his time already served, would release him by the end of the year. Federal prosecutors initially argued that Combs deserved at least four to five years in prison. Earlier this week, they amended their request to more than 11 years. (Combs was found guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution under the Mann Act. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.)
On Friday morning in court, prosecutor Christy Slavik began with opening remarks, emphasizing that Combs “has not admitted his guilt” or “accepted responsibility” and slamming the defense’s primary argument as “flatly inconsistent with reality.” She underlined the government’s recommendation of at least 135 months in prison, comparing it to other Mann Act cases. “His respect for the law is just lip service,” she said of Combs, revealing that the disgraced music mogul apparently booked a speaking engagement in Miami for next week. “That is the height of hubris,” Slavik said.
Defense attorney Jason Driscoll rebutted Slavik’s argument, and Nicole Westmoreland started crying during her lengthy remarks about how Combs is an “inspiration” and Black business pioneer. She told the judge about Combs’ behavior at the Metropolitan Detention Center over the last 13 months, saying he taught other inmates business skills in a six-week course. “Mr. Combs can reach so many more on the outside than he can on the inside,” Westmoreland said, pleading for a lenient sentence.
All six of Combs’ grown children spoke at the sentencing hearing in defense of their father, underlining that “he has completely transformed” since his 2024 arrest. “He’s my hero … he’s still my superhero,” said Christian Combs, who began his remarks by talking about how much he resembles his father. Sniffling, he added, “Please give my family grace.”
Combs’ daughters Jessie, Chance and D’Lila, each broke down in tears in the courtroom as they described growing up without their mom, Kim Porter, who died in 2018. “We need our father,” Chance said, weeping. “We cannot watch our baby sister grow up fatherless,” she added, referring to the 2-year-old Love.
Judge Arun Subramanian thanked the Combs kids for speaking. “I know how hard it was to stand up here,” he said, adding that it was really “important” for him to hear from them.
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Speaking next was Brian Steel, who said Combs’ violence was the result of “untreated trauma” and a “ferocious drug addiction.” Steel said Combs underwent a medical procedure in 2000 and was prescribed painkillers. Since that day until 2024, “Sean has been high every single day,” said Steel. The lawyer also described the rough conditions in jail, saying Combs was attacked by a fellow inmate holding a shank, and prison guards stopped the assailant as he was standing over Combs, about to “cut” him. Steel said Combs has not slept more than two consecutive hours over the past year and hasn’t seen daylight except on his commutes to court. He said Combs hears screaming all night in jail, has to deal with “polluted” water and “eats chips all day long.”
The night before his sentencing on Oct. 3, Combs filed a letter to the judge asking for leniency in his sentencing. In the letter, he apologized for “the hurt and pain that I have caused others” and vowed to “never commit a crime again.” He also described his dire situation in jail, writing, “I have been humbled and broken to my core.”
A few days earlier, Combs’ ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, the star witness in his criminal trial, filed her own letter to the judge. Ventura wrote that she still has nightmares about Combs, who, in a key piece of trial evidence, was seen violently beating her in a hotel.
In a statement to Variety following the sentencing, Ventura’s lawyer Douglas H. Wigdor said, “This entire criminal process started when our client Cassie Ventura had the courage to file her civil complaint in November 2023. Although the jury did not find Combs guilty of sex trafficking Cassie beyond a reasonable doubt, she paved the way for a jury to find him guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution. By coming forward with her experience, Cassie has left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice. We must repeat – with no reservation – that we believe and support our client who showed exemplary courage throughout this trial. She displayed unquestionable strength and brought attention to the realities of powerful men in our orbit and the misconduct that has persisted for decades without repercussion. This case proved that change is long overdue, and we will continue to fight on behalf of survivors.”
Combs’ two-month federal trial began in May, when the Bad Boy Records founder faced charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. He was acquitted of those major charges, dodging a potential life sentence in prison. More than 30 witnesses testified against Combs, accusing him of crimes including drug distribution, arson and rape. Ventura and another ex-girlfriend of Combs’ alleged that he coerced them into having hundreds of “freak-offs,” days-long, drug-fueled sex marathons that he often filmed with male escorts whom he flew across state lines.
Federal prosecutors painted Combs as the leader of a criminal enterprise and a sex trafficker who violently abused women and plastered them with drugs to fulfill his sexual fantasies. His defense lawyers argued that he was an amateur pornographer who had toxic, yet fully consensual relationships with his accusers.
Despite the fact that Combs was found guilty on two counts and denied bail by the judge, his attorneys claimed “a great victory” after the verdict. In the courtroom, Combs pumped his fist and mouthed “thank you” at the jurors. Members of his family and defense team cried. Lead prosecutor Maurene Comey was fired by the Department of Justice two weeks after the verdict, with no explanation.
In an interview with Variety in August, Combs’ lead counsel Marc Agnifilo said he felt Combs received “as fair a trial as possible.” As for Combs’ life after prison, he said, “The work that he didn’t do in his early 20s, I think he’s going to do it now. Sometimes — not all the time — he looks at [these consequences] as a blessing.”
From Variety US