Judge Denies Bail for Diddy, Sets Sentencing for October

Judge Arun Subramanian has denied bail for disgraced music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs on Wednesday. Sentencing has been set, for now, for October 3rd.

Combs, who has been in jail since September 16, 2024, after he was arrested following a federal indictment accusing him of a litany of crimes, was acquitted Wednesday of the three more serious charges: one count of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion.

The jury, meanwhile, found the disgraced music mogul guilty of two lesser charges, two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution — each of which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison — after 13 hours of deliberation over three days.

All three of the more serious charges for which the jury found Combs not guilty carried a maximum sentence of life in prison, with two of the charges carrying a minimum sentence of 15 years each.

The verdict is seen as a victory for Combs, who was seen smiling and appearing relieved as the verdict was read in court, before shaking hands with one of his lawyers and saying “thank you” to members of the eight-man, four-woman jury as they left the courtroom.

Prosecutors had accused the hip hop powerhouse of leading a decades-long criminal group who directed loyal employees and bodyguards to commit a myriad of offenses at his behest.

The alleged crimes — which Combs has vehemently denied — included forced labor, drug distribution, kidnapping, bribery, witness tampering and obstruction, and arson.

In order to find Combs guilty of racketeering, jurors needed to find the existence of a criminal enterprise and the organization having committed at least two of the offenses.

The sex trafficking allegations involved two women: singer Casandra Ventura and a woman who testified under the pseudonym Jane — both of whom had been in long-term relationships with the music mogul.

Both Ventura and Jane had testified about the alleged abuse, threats, and coercive sex in wrenching detail, saying they felt obligated to participate in Combs-directed sexual marathons with hired men, events now known to the public as “Freak Offs.”

The trial also included thousands of pages of phone, financial and audiovisual records.

The music mogul’s defense team, meanwhile, had argued that this was an issue of “free will,” pushing back against claims of force or coercion by insisting the sex was consensual and that the women were adults who knew what they were doing.

While Combs’ lawyers conceded that domestic violence was a feature of his relationships, they nonetheless argued that despite this revelation being disturbing, it failed to meet the standard for sex trafficking.

Prosecutors countered the rapper and record producer’s defense team by claiming they “contorted the facts endlessly.”

“In his mind he was untouchable,” prosecutor Maurene Comey told the court of Combs. “The defendant never thought that the women he abused would have the courage to speak out loud what he had done to them.”

Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.