Sean "Diddy" Combs Returns to Court Seeking to Overturn Prostitution Conviction While Facing 20-Year Sentence

'Diddy' Back In Court In Bid To Reverse Sex-Trafficking Charges

Sean 'Diddy' Combs, 55, faces up to 20 years in prison if the July 2 conviction stands. (File)

New York:

Sean "Diddy" Combs is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday for a hearing regarding his attempt to overturn a jury verdict that found him guilty of prostitution charges while acquitting him of more severe sex trafficking and racketeering counts.

The 55-year-old hip-hop mogul could face up to 20 years imprisonment if his July 2 conviction remains in place. Jurors determined that he paid male escorts to cross state lines to engage in sexual activities with his girlfriends while he filmed and masturbated. Combs had entered not guilty pleas to all charges, which potentially carried a life sentence.

The hearing is set to begin at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) in Manhattan federal court. US District Judge Arun Subramanian, who presides over the case, has not indicated when he will decide on Combs' motion.

In a July 30 court filing, Combs' legal team urged Judge Subramanian to set aside the verdict, arguing that Combs did not personally engage in sexual activities with the prostitutes or his girlfriends during the extended drug-fueled sexual encounters sometimes referred to as "Freak Offs."

His attorneys also contended that Combs was recording the encounters as "amateur pornography," which they claimed constitutes protected speech under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

Manhattan US Attorney's office prosecutors responded in an August 20 filing that Combs' personal participation in the sexual acts was not necessary for conviction, as he facilitated the male escorts' travel arrangements.

Prosecutors alleged that he used the recordings as blackmail, threatening to release them if his girlfriends ceased participating in these encounters.

The founder of Bad Boy Records, who is credited with elevating hip-hop within American culture, was arrested on sex trafficking charges on September 16, 2024. Since then, he has been detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

During his two-month trial earlier this year, prosecutors claimed he coerced two former girlfriends into sexual performances.

Both women - R&B singer Casandra Ventura, known as Cassie, and an individual identified by the pseudonym Jane - testified that Combs physically assaulted them and threatened to withdraw financial support if they refused to participate in the sexual performances.

While Combs' attorneys acknowledged the physical attacks, they argued there was no direct connection between what they termed domestic violence and the women's participation in the Freak Offs.

The defense also maintained that Ventura and Jane consented to the encounters because of their love for Combs and desire to please him.

At the upcoming hearing, prosecutors and defense lawyers will each receive 20 minutes to present their arguments. Judge Subramanian has asked both parties to address whether Combs should have raised his First Amendment argument earlier.

Should Judge Subramanian uphold the conviction, Combs is scheduled for sentencing on October 3. In a recent court filing, his lawyers proposed a 14-month sentence, which would result in his imminent release considering time already served in detention.

Prosecutors are expected to submit their sentencing recommendation by September 29.