Sean "Diddy" Combs was sentenced on Friday to more than four years in prison over the hip-hop mogul's July conviction on prostitution-related charges.
The 50-month sentence was imposed by US District Judge Arun Subramanian at a hearing in Manhattan federal court. Combs, 55, had faced up to 20 years behind bars.
He was convicted on two counts of arranging for paid male escorts to travel across state lines to take part in drug-fuelled sexual performances — sometimes known as "Freak Offs" — with Combs' girlfriends while he recorded video and masturbated.
The jury acquitted him on the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking, which could have earned him a life sentence.
Those charges hinged on prosecutors' accusation that Combs used violence and threats to coerce two of his girlfriends — the rhythm and blues singer Casandra Ventura, and a woman known in court by the pseudonym Jane — to take part in the encounters.
Combs former girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, submitted a letter to the judge asking him to consider "the many lives that Sean Combs has upended with his abuse and control." Source: AP / Lionel Cironneau
"I know I'll never put my hands on another person again," said Combs, who has been behind bars at a Brooklyn jail since his September 2024 arrest.
"I was sick. Sick from the drugs, I was out of control. I needed help but I didn't get the help," Combs said.
Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, is credited with elevating hip-hop's stature in American culture.
The New York-born entrepreneur is one of the most prominent men in the entertainment industry to have faced trial on sex crimes charges.
Prosecutors urged judge to consider abuse
Combs' lawyers acknowledged he had physically abused his girlfriends, but argued they willingly took part in the sexual performances.
Defence lawyers say the appropriate sentence is 14 months, which would mean Combs would be released by the end of the year after receiving credit for time served.
Prosecutors are pushing for a sentence of at least 11-1/4 years.
At the hearing, prosecutor Christy Slavik said the defence was improperly seeking to portray Combs' conduct as a "minor consequence of a sex, drugs, and rock and roll lifestyle," and argued the judge should consider his abuse of his girlfriends.
"To not account for it now would be to let the defendant get away with years of domestic violence and abuse," Slavik said.
Combs' defence lawyer Brian Steel said the conduct that led to the trial came while his client was in "a ferocious drug addiction," and noted that he had already spent 12 months and 17 days in jail.
"Sean has been punished severely already," Steel said.
