Sean "Diddy" Combs' request for an acquittal or a new trial should be quickly rejected, prosecutors said in a new court filing almost three weeks after the music mogul was convicted of two charges related to prostitution.
In a filing made public Wednesday just before midnight, prosecutors said that there were no legal grounds for the court to grant Combs' request to quash his convictions and that he should be sentenced Oct. 3.
Combs, 55, was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking at his lengthy and high-profile seven-week trial in New York last month. At the time, lead attorney Marc Agnifilo called the verdict "a great victory for Sean Combs."
But the convictions on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution could jail him for up to 20 years under the Mann Act, which outlaws interstate commerce related to prostitution. U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian said after the trial that prosecutors would seek a sentence of four to five years behind bars.
Combs was denied bail and has remained in jail since the trial as his defense team continues to argue that he should serve no time.
In previous legal filings, Combs' lawyers have argued that the Mann Act is vague and violates his First Amendment rights. None of the elements generally used in a Mann Act conviction were present in this case, they argued, including that Combs had no financial motive. Instead, he had "paid to engage in voyeurism as part of a ‘swingers’ lifestyle," the filings said.
Prosecutors, however, argue that not only was the Mann Act clear and relevant to this case but that there was also "overwhelming" evidence to support his conviction, centered on the now well-known "freak offs" and "hotel nights," drug-fueled sex parties in luxury hotels that involved male sex workers.
"The defendant masterminded every aspect of Freak Offs," the prosecution said in its filing in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
"He transported escorts across state lines to engage in Freak Offs for pay. He directed the sexual activity of escorts and victims throughout Freak Offs for his own sexual gratification. And he personally engaged in sexual activity during Freak Offs," the filing said.
Combs' attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The case against Combs fell apart in court despite the years of efforts by federal prosecutors to build evidence to prove the sex trafficking charges. More than 30 prosecution witnesses were called, while the defense called none.
During the trial, the jury was shown harrowing video evidence showing him assaulting R&B artist Cassie, a former girlfriend whose real name is Casandra Ventura, in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016. Ventura said at the trial that Combs was angered that she had decided to leave a freak off.
