New York (AFP) – Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was found not guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking Wednesday but convicted of a less serious prostitution charge after a high-profile marathon trial in New York. The jury, after 13 hours of deliberation, found Combs guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
But the 55-year-old hip-hop pioneer was acquitted of a major racketeering charge and two sex trafficking charges that could have sent him to prison for life. Combs bowed his head, quietly pumping his fists in his lap and bringing his hands together in prayer as the verdicts were read out. At one point, he looked towards the ceiling, appearing to express deep relief. He shook hands with one of his lawyers, who embraced each other — two of them teared up in joy — and mouthed thanks to the eight-man, four-woman jury as they filed out of the courtroom. He later fell to his knees at the defense table, where he had spent two months wondering if he would live out his days in a cell.
The relatively quick verdict came after seven weeks of at-times excruciating testimony, during which prosecutors had accused Combs of being the boss of a decades-long criminal enterprise, directing loyal employees and bodyguards to commit myriad offenses at his behest. Jurors announced they had reached a partial verdict late Tuesday and said they were deadlocked on the racketeering charge — but Judge Arun Subramanian instructed them to keep working. Combs, once one of the most powerful figures in the music industry, had vehemently denied all charges.
– Family celebrate – Along with racketeering, Combs was charged with sex trafficking two women: singer Casandra Ventura and a woman who testified under the pseudonym Jane. Both were in long-term relationships with the entrepreneur, and they each testified about abuse, threats, and coercive sex in graphic detail. They both said they felt obligated to participate in sexual marathons with hired men directed and sometimes filmed by Combs. Combs’s lawyers insisted the sex was consensual. They conceded domestic violence was a feature of his relationships — one harrowing example of him beating and dragging Ventura was caught on security footage that has been widely publicized. Yet while disturbing, his actions did not amount to sex trafficking, the defense said. Jurors ultimately agreed.
Ventura’s lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, released a statement saying she had made an “indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice.” “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,” read the statement. “We’re pleased that he’s finally been held responsible for two federal crimes, something that he’s never faced in his life,” Wigdor told journalists outside the courthouse. Combs’s family members, present throughout the trial that began in early May, clapped and cheered for him in court. His mother waved at cameras as she left the building with a smile.
– Bail? – Combs has been incarcerated at a notorious Brooklyn prison since he was arrested in September 2024. The defense immediately requested that he be released on bond — they suggested $1 million — and be permitted to travel between Miami, Los Angeles, and New York while he awaits sentencing. They said they would hand over his passport to court officials. The judge is expected to rule on the matter during proceedings set to begin at 5:00 pm (2100 GMT). “He would be nothing short of a fool, which he is not, to violate any conditions the court set,” defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said, adding that Combs “treasures” the “opportunity he has been given.”
The guilty findings confirm that Combs transported both Ventura and Jane for purposes of prostitution during the sometimes days-long sex parties. Lead prosecutor Maurene Comey opposed Agnifilo’s bond request on that basis, accusing the defense of trying to “downplay the seriousness” of the convictions. In a letter filed to the court, prosecutors said he should remain behind bars until his sentencing, calling him a flight risk with a history of violence and abuse against women and a “habitual drug user.” Wigdor also filed a letter to the court on behalf of Ventura, urging the judge not to grant bond and to consider that “Combs is likely to pose a danger to the victims who testified in this case.”
© 2024 AFP
