Sean “Diddy” Combs' sentencing hearing for a sordid criminal case involving his girlfriends and male sex workers opened Friday with prosecutors arguing the hip-hop mogul should be locked up for years while his children tearfully asked the judge to show mercy.
Prosecutors want 11 years in prison for Combs, 55, who was convicted by jurors in July of flying people around the country for marathon sexual encounters. The jury acquitted him of more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking that could have carried a life sentence.
Combs' lawyers want him freed immediately, as he has already served more than a year in pre-trial detention. They were presenting their sentencing recommendation early Friday afternoon.
His nearly two-month trial in a federal court in Manhattan featured testimony from women who described being beaten, threatened, sexually assaulted and blackmailed by Combs, who was expected to speak in court later Friday, after his children.
Prosecutor Christy Slavik told US District Judge Arun Subramanian that not sentencing Combs to significant prison time would, in effect, be allowing him to get away with years of domestic violence. She said Friday's focus was on accountability.
“It's a case about a man who did horrible things to real people to satisfy his own sexual gratification,” Prosecutor Christy Slavik said. “He didn't need the money. His currency was control.”
Prosecutors also blasted Combs for, according to them, having booked a speaking gig in Miami next week -- apparently assuming he'd be free to do it. “That is the height of hubris,” Slavik said.
Combs was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, in violation of the federal Mann Act.
One of Combs' attorneys, Jason Driscoll, told the judge that the Mann Act should never have been applied to Combs. Another of his lawyers, Nicole Westmoreland, became emotional as she explained how Combs inspired her personally.
“Mr. Combs is not larger than life. He's a human being. And he's made some mistakes. “He has flaws, like we all do,” Westmoreland said. “But judge, how many of us can say that we helped so many lives, countless lives?”
Several of Combs' children later crowded around the podium, imploring the judge to give their father a second chance.
“My father is my superhero. Seeing him broken down and stripped of everything is something I will never forget,” Combs' son, Justin Combs, said. He suggested that as tough as the ordeal has been, it probably saved Combs' life because, during his year in jail, he has kicked drugs and alcohol.
His daughters Chance and D'Lila Combs cried as they read prepared remarks, D'Lila saying she fears losing their father to prison and effectively being parentless after the 2018 death of her mother, Kim Porter. In all, six of Combs' seven children spoke. His youngest daughter, Love, didn't speak, but she's just two years old.
Subramanian, who will decide the sentence, has twice denied bail and signalled Combs is unlikely to walk out of federal custody soon. On Friday, the judge said that although Combs was acquitted of certain charges, the verdict doesn't absolve him of underlying conduct, such as violence and coercion.
Former girlfriend and R&B singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura told jurors that Combs ordered her to have “disgusting” sex with strangers hundreds of times during their decade-long relationship. The jury was repeatedly shown video of him dragging and beating her in a Los Angeles hotel hallway after one such multiday “freak-off”.
A woman who testified under the pseudonym “Jane” said she was subjected to violence and felt obligated to perform sexually with male sex workers at drug-fuelled “hotel nights” while Combs watched and sometimes filmed.
The only Combs accuser scheduled to speak in person Friday backed out after defence objections. The woman, a former personal assistant who testified under the pseudonym “Mia”, accused Combs of raping her in 2010 and has urged the judge to impose a sentence reflecting “the ongoing danger my abuser poses to me and to others.”
Defence lawyers also planned to show an 11-minute video highlighting his family life, career and philanthropy.
Combs entered the courtroom wearing a light-coloured sweater, button-down shirt and dark pants. He hugged his lawyers and greeted his family and supporters. Outside the courthouse, photographers and onlookers swarmed.
To support their racketeering case, prosecutors had witnesses testify about other violent acts. One of Cassie's friends said Combs dangled her from a 17th-floor balcony. The rapper Kid Cudi testified Combs broke into his home after learning he was dating Cassie.
In a letter to the judge Thursday, Combs said, “The old me died in jail, and a new version of me was reborn,” promising he would never commit another crime.
Cassie, in her own letter, described him as an abuser who “will always be the same cruel, power-hungry, manipulative man that he is.”
Combs' lawyers say the sexual encounters were consensual and that a year in jail has spurred his sobriety and remorse. At a hearing last week, Combs told his mother and children that he is “getting closer to going home.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
