Sean "Diddy" Combs to remain detained ahead of sentencing on prostitution-related charges

Sean "Diddy" Combs will remain detained after a jury found him guilty Wednesday of transportation to engage in prostitution in his high-profile trial in New York City. The music mogul was acquitted of the more severe charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. 

Following the seven-week jury trial, Combs' attorneys moved to have him released from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn where he was held during the trial, arguing that the 55-year-old had been acquitted of the most serious charges and "continued detention of Mr. Combs is inappropriate."

The defense argued Combs should be able to return to his Miami home, emphasizing that this was his first conviction. 

In a filing submitted to Judge Arun Subramanian on Wednesday, Combs' legal team said he came to New York to surrender because he was "committed to showing his innocence" and that Combs should be released pending sentencing. 

The attorneys cited conditions under the Bail Reform Act that states "a defendant who has been found guilty of an offense is entitled to release pending sentencing if the Court finds by 'clear and convincing evidence' that he 'is not likely to flee or pose a danger to the safety of any other person or the community if released.'"

Federal prosecutors, however, argued the Bail Reform Act dictates that Combs should remain in custody.

In their filing to the judge, prosecutors said the crimes Combs was convicted of "constitute crimes of violence and mandate detention following the defendant's conviction."

"As detention is mandatory following a conviction of a Mann Act offense, the Government has been unable to locate a case in which a defendant was released from custody following such a conviction," prosecutors said.

Combs was convicted of two counts of prostitution-related charges. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Prosecutors said their preliminary calculations indicate Combs should get at least 51 to 63 months imprisonment on the two convictions, or a sentence of roughly four to five years.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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Sean "Diddy" Combs was found guilty Wednesday of transportation to engage in prostitution in his federal trial in New York City, but the music mogul was acquitted of the more severe charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. After the high-profile verdict was announced, Combs' attorneys were trying to get him released under restrictions until his sentencing, and a hearing was scheduled for 5 p.m. Eastern time.

Combs was convicted of two counts of the prostitution-related charge. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Prosecutors said their preliminary calculations indicate Combs should get at least 51 to 63 months imprisonment on the two convictions, or a sentence of roughly four to five years.

How did Sean "Diddy" Combs react to the verdict?

As the jury foreperson announced not guilty on the racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charge involving Combs' former girlfriend, Casandra Ventura — the R&B singer known as Cassie — Combs put his hand to his face, his fingers resting on his temples.

When he heard the word "guilty" for Count 3, the first prostitution-related charge, he was startled. But then "not guilty" came for the second sex trafficking count involving another former girlfriend who testified under the pseudonym "Jane." Combs held hands with attorney Teny Geragos and leaned in to talk to her.

Combs looked at his family and made prayer hands. He nodded as each juror affirmed the verdict, shaking his fists triumphantly under the table. He made prayer hands to the jury, hugged Geragos and smiled. He mouthed "thank you" to attorney Marc Agnifilo.

Related Story: What are RICO charges? And how do they apply to the Sean "Diddy" Combs trial?

Combs turned to his family, clasped his hands together and appeared to say: "I'm coming home."

He looked toward the reporters in the courtroom and again shook his fist under the table. Combs leaned forward and nodded in agreement at the jury as the judge thanked them. He then put his face in his hands and smiled. Combs made prayer hands and mouthed "thank you" to the jurors a number of times. Then he clasped his hands and kept thanking them. He leaned back and tilted his head up, again putting his face in his hands as though in disbelief.

Combs kneeled down on the ground, put his hands on his chair and prayed. He and his family erupted in loud applause, cheering loudly and whistling.

Following the decision, Combs' lawyers argued for him to be released from custody immediately and be able to return to his Miami home, emphasizing that this was his first conviction. Prosecutors opposed the defense's request and urged Judge Arun Subramanian to keep Combs detained until his sentencing.

Subramanian acknowledged that Combs didn't want to return to a federal detention center in Brooklyn where he'd been in custody since his arrest last September. Combs shook his head no.

The judge asked both the prosecution and defense to submit letters as to why Combs should be released Wednesday or remain detained.

Combs' attorneys proposed in their letter that a million-dollar bond be posted for him and that his travel be restricted to parts of Florida, California, New York and New Jersey. New Jersey and New York were included to accommodate Combs traveling to attend court and meet with his attorneys.

Combs' attorneys also proposed surrendering his passport and undergoing drug testing when required by the court.

Prosecutors proposed that Combs continued to be detained and his bail application be denied.

The developments come after jurors said Tuesday they'd agreed on four of the five counts against Combs but disagreed on racketeering conspiracy. They reached a verdict on all five counts Wednesday morning. 

Jurors began deliberating in U.S. District Court in lower Manhattan on Monday. They said they'd reached a partial verdict Tuesday, but Subramanian sent them back to continue deliberating on the remaining count.

What were the charges against Sean "Diddy" Combs?

The grand jury indictment against the 55-year-old Combs, unsealed in September 2024, initially charged the hip-hop mogul with three counts following his arrest at a Manhattan hotel. In April, before the trial began, prosecutors filed additional charges, bringing the total number of counts against him to five.

Combs pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The charges against Combs and each verdict were:

1. Count 1: Racketeering conspiracy - NOT GUILTY
2. Count 2: Sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion (Casandra Ventura) - NOT GUILTY
3. Count 3: Transportation to engage in prostitution (Casandra Ventura) - GUILTY
4. Count 4: Sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion ("Jane") - NOT GUILTY
5. Count 5: Transportation to engage in prostitution ("Jane") - GUILTY

What is the Mann Act?

The prostitution-related charges allege violations of the Mann Act, a law that makes it a federal crime to transport someone across state lines for prostitution.

Before jurors began their deliberations, Subramanian gave them instructions on how to apply the law to the facts presented during the trial. Jurors were told that, in order to find Combs guilty of the prostitution-related charges, prosecutors must have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that he knowingly transported an individual in "interstate or foreign commerce" and intended that the individual "engage in an act of prostitution."

Subramanian noted that it wasn't necessary for prosecutors to prove that engaging in prostitution was Combs' sole purpose in transporting a person across a state line or foreign border. However, prosecutors needed to prove that a "significant or motivating purpose" of the trip was prostitution.

The charge of racketeering conspiracy requires prosecutors to prove a number of elements: that there was an agreement among two or more people to participate in a pattern of activity that would affect interstate commerce; that the defendant willfully joined it; and that members of the conspiracy committed two or more racketeering acts. The charging document lists a number of alleged racketeering acts, including kidnapping, bribery, sex trafficking and forced labor.

Prosecutors alleged that Combs' business empire created a criminal enterprise that he used for years to cover up acts of violence and abuse and to coerce women into fulfilling his sexual desires. Jurors heard from more than 30 witnesses over the course of seven weeks as the prosecution went through its case.

Combs denied the accusations but chose not to take the stand to testify in his defense. His attorneys did not call any witnesses during the trial, though they did conduct extensive cross-examinations of the government's witnesses. Combs' lawyers argued the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

"Freak-offs" part of emotional and graphic testimony 

The high-profile trial, which started in May, included graphic and emotional testimony from two of Combs' former girlfriends.

Ventura, who spent more than a decade with him, testified about drug-fueled sex sessions that Combs allegedly referred to as "freak-offs." Ventura testified that he directed all the encounters, which could last for days, and that she felt forced to participate to make him happy.

Ventura testified that Combs controlled every aspect of her life, and that she often did things out of fear, since physical abuse was "frequent." 

Combs' attorneys argued that the encounters were consensual. During cross-examination, the defense showed the jury a 2009 message from Ventura to Combs that read, "I'm always ready to freak off."

Ventura also testified about a 2016 incident which was caught on surveillance video showing Combs beating and kicking her in a California hotel hallway. Combs apologized at the time, saying his behavior was "inexcusable" and that he took "full responsibility" for his actions. 

Ventura testified that the attack happened as she was trying to leave a "freak-off" that had turned violent. A former hotel security officer testified that Combs offered him cash after the attack, which the officer said he understood to be a bribe.

Ventura had filed a civil lawsuit against Combs in 2023, accusing him of physically and sexually abusing her. Combs denied the claims and quickly reached a settlement with her. In his closing argument to the jury Friday, Agnifilo said, "If you had to pick a winner in this whole thing, it's hard not to pick Cassie."

Another former girlfriend of Combs testified under the pseudonym "Jane" to protect her identity. She told the court she often participated in what she called "hotel nights," which also involved drugs. Jane testified she would have sex with a male escort while Combs watched. She said she told Combs many times that she didn't want to have sex with other men and didn't like the "hotel nights." 

Combs' lawyers displayed messages showing her setting up "hotel nights." Jane said she felt pressured and that she had grown financially dependent on Combs.

In the prosecution's closing arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik described Combs as "the leader of a criminal enterprise. He doesn't take no for an answer. And now you know about many crimes he committed with members of his enterprise."

She said he used a "small army" of employees to harm women and then cover it up. "He thought that his fame, wealth and power put him above the law," Slavik said.

Agnifilo countered by arguing that prosecutors "badly exaggerated" evidence of a swinger lifestyle and threesomes, combining it with recreational drug use and calling it a racketeering conspiracy.

"He did not do the things he's charged with. He didn't do racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking," Combs' lawyer said.