The judge in Sean "Diddy" Combs’ criminal case rejected the hip-hop mogul’s request to toss out his prostitution-related convictions Tuesday, setting the stage for his sentencing.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, who oversaw Combs’ eight-week federal trial in New York this summer, turned down Combs' motion to throw out his convictions on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, which each carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
Combs is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday.
Federal prosecutors had accused Combs of orchestrating a decade-spanning 'criminal enterprise' and forcing women to participate in marathon, drug-dazed sexual encounters with male escorts, known as 'freak-offs.'
Combs, who had been held in a Brooklyn jail cell for more than a year, pleaded not guilty to all five counts at the heart of the trial, and he has denied the allegations.
Jurors acquitted Combs on one count of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion — denying prosecutors a verdict that could have sent him to prison for the rest of his life.
He was found guilty on charges under what is formally known as the Mann Act, a federal law passed in 1910 that outlaws moving people across state lines for 'immoral purposes.'
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Combs' lawyers argued at a hearing Thursday that the Mann Act didn’t apply to their client in part because he wasn’t running a 'commercial business.'
They also insisted that the prosecution’s key witnesses — including ex-girlfriends Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura and a woman identified by the pseudonym 'Jane' — willingly participated in the 'freak-offs.'
'We are talking about adults having a threesome, bringing another adult into their private sex life,' Alexandra Shapiro, one of Combs’ defense lawyers, told Subramanian.
The prosecution tried to rebuff that narrative, telling Subramanian that the government has an 'important and substantial' interest in cracking down on exactly the kind of interstate prostitution Combs was accused of orchestrating for his sexual encounters.
'The government proved the defendant transported Cassie and 'Jane' domestically and internationally so they could participate in prostitution,' Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik said. 'The 'freak-offs' were about one thing: his sexual gratification, his personal pleasure.'
Subramanian previously denied Combs’ efforts to be released on bail, saying in part that he 'fails to satisfy his burden to demonstrate an entitlement to release.'
In a separate development on Tuesday, prosecutors filed a two-page letter to Subramanian asking that the Combs accuser, who testified under the pseudonym "Mia," be allowed to speak at his sentencing.
"Mia," who worked as a personal assistant for Combs from 2009 to 2017, testified that Combs physically and sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions.
"The defendant’s wealth, power, and fame should not place him above the law," she said in a filing to the court. "These forces have shielded him for too long."
"I ask you to deliver a sentence that reflects the full measure of harm that he has caused: the years of coercion, financial abuse, humiliation, physical and sexual violence, and the profound trauma that he has inflicted as a result," she added.
Combs' lawyers forcefully pushed back on the prosecution's request, characterizing "Mia" as a liar.
"She lied that she had sexual contact with Sean Combs without her consent. She lied that she was a victim," the defense team said in a Wednesday filing to the court. "Virtually everything that came out of her mouth was a lie."
A lawyer for "Mia" said his client was "brave" for testifying against Combs.
"Mia was incredibly brave to walk into a public courtroom and testify truthfully about the worst events of her life, and stand up for herself, her friends, and abused women everywhere," lawyer Shawn Crowley said.
