•Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs
Sean “Diddy” Combs will be sentenced today for his conviction on two prostitution-related counts, crimes prosecutors say deserve more than a decade behind bars as the music mogul seeks “mercy” and a swift release.
Following two months of often searing testimony and arguments in the New York federal case, jurors in July rejected the most serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, sparing the 55-year-old the prospect of life in prison.
But the hip-hop innovator who was once the toast of entertainment’s elite could still serve significant jail time, reports AFP.
The two prostitution-related counts each carry a maximum penalty of a decade in prison.
Prosecutors are urging Judge Arun Subramanian to sentence Combs to at least 11 years, calling him “unrepentant” and a public threat.
Combs’s lawyers meanwhile have asked that the judge grant him 14 months, which would effectively be time served.
Ahead of his decision, Subramanian is weighing materials including victim impact statements. At least one witness, a former assistant who testified under the name Mia, is expected to read her statement in court.
The judge also has reference letters supporting Combs — in addition to a lengthy plea for leniency from the artist himself.
Combs is also expected to speak directly to the judge, and the letter submitted late yesterday offered a preview.
He apologised for the appalling evidence of violence he committed and told Subramanian he was “scared to death” to be away from his family, vowing he “will never commit a crime again.”
Judges must consider federal sentencing guidelines, but ultimately have broad discretion in determining punishment.
Combs’ former girlfriend Casandra Ventura in a letter asked the judge to consider “the many lives that Sean Combs has upended with his abuse and control.”
Ventura, the 39-year-old singer known as Cassie, testified for days while heavily pregnant.
She described in wrenching detail physical, emotional and sexual abuse she suffered while in a more than decade-long relationship with Combs.
Ventura and another woman, identified as Jane, said they were coerced into performing so-called “freak-offs”: sexual marathons with hired men that Combs directed and sometimes filmed.
“The entire courtroom watched actual footage of Combs kicking and beating me as I tried to run away from a freak off in 2016,” Ventura wrote.
“People watched this footage dozens of times, seeing my body thrown to the ground, my hands over my head, curled into a fetal position to shield me from the worst blows,” she said, noting she has nightmares and flashbacks “on a regular, everyday basis.”
Ventura said she and her family had left the New York area for fear of “retribution” from Combs if he is released.
‘Shattered’ legacy
The defense didn’t deny Combs’s sexual activity — prosecutors presented copious video and text message evidence — but insisted it was consensual.
They also didn’t deny Combs’s years of violence against both romantic partners as well as employees — but they said it didn’t meet the legal threshold for the grave charges he faced.
Jurors took their side.
In her letter, Ventura asked the judge for a decision that “reflects the strength it took for victims of Sean Combs to come forward.”
The conviction on lesser if still serious counts stemmed from a federal statute that makes it illegal to transport people across state lines for prostitution.
The defense has sought to minimize those offenses, including trying and failing to have the conviction tossed.
They say the crimes merit no more than 14 months in prison.
Combs has been incarcerated in Brooklyn for more than a year, so such a punishment would see him released before the end of this year.
He said his time in prison has left him “reborn.”
“I have been humbled and broken to my core,” said Combs.
His lawyers insist he has suffered enough and that his legacy is “shattered.”
No matter the decision today, there is always the prospect of a presidential pardon: people in Combs’s circle have reportedly approached the White House seeking clemency.
Decades ago, US President Donald Trump ran in celebrity circles that overlapped with those of Combs, when the two were both tabloid-thirsty New York moguls.
Trump has been noncommittal on the topic, perhaps not least due to Combs’s criticism in recent years of the Republican’s conservative turn.
