A federal decide sentenced Sean “Diddy” Combs to 4 years and two months in prison Friday afternoon, telling the disgraced music mogul that his crimes had been severe however there’s “light at the end of the tunnel” for him.
Combs has been jailed in a federal detention facility in Brooklyn, New York since his arrest in September of final 12 months, and was going through up to ten years in prison for every of the 2 counts of transportation to interact in prostitution he was discovered responsible of in July.
He was convicted of transporting two of his former girlfriends to have intercourse with paid male escorts at drug-fueled nights referred to as “Freak Offs” or “hotel nights.”
Judge Arun Subramanian’s ruling Friday departed from the prosecutors’ 11-year sentencing suggestion, and the protection group’s request for a lenient 14-month sentence that will’ve secured Combs’ imminent launch after time served.
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The decide stated he thought-about the truth that Combs is a self-made artist and businessman who has “inspired and lifted up communities” and referred to as his influence on the Black neighborhood and entrepreneurship – all of which was highlighted by his protection group in court on Friday – “celebrated and iconic.”
But Subramanian additionally stated, “A history of good works cannot wash away the record in this case, which showed that you abused the power and control you had over the women you professed to love dearly. You abused them physically, emotionally and psychologically and you used that abuse to get your way.”
The decide rejected “the defense’s attempt to characterize what happened here as merely intimate consensual experiences or just a sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll story.”
“I was sitting right here,” Subramanian stated, in reference to the testimony given at trial by two of Combs’ former girlfriends, Casandra Ventura and a girl who testified below the pseudonym “Jane.”
“We read about it in text messages and emails. We saw it in the images of gashes, bruises, broken doors, and we saw the video of your savage beating of Ms. Ventura,” Judge Subramanian stated. “This was subjugation, and it drove both Ms. Ventura and Jane to thoughts of ending their lives.”
Judge Subramanian thanked the victims for his or her braveness to communicate out in regards to the abuse they endured from Combs.
”I need to say first we heard you. I’m happy with you for coming to the Court to inform the world what actually occurred,” he stated.
The decide additionally questioned the authenticity of Combs’ claims of reform, pointing to his assault of Jane in June 2024. The decide stated Combs assaulted Jane and organized a lodge evening together with her and an escort whereas figuring out he was below lively federal investigation and the surveillance video of him assaulting Ventura at a hotel in 2016 had been grow to be public.
Subramanian addressed Combs straight, encouraging him to let his household help him by means of his sentence and when he’s launched, quoting from a number of constructive messages in letters submitted by his household and mates to the court.
“These letters, all those letters that I saw, show that you have a universe of people who love you,” the decide stated. “Let them lift you up now, just like you’ve lifted them up for so many years.”
“I’m counting on you to make the most of your second chance,” Subramanian stated.
Combs addressed the court earlier than Judge Subramanian imposed his sentence, pleading for a second probability.
“I ask your honor for mercy. I beg your honor for mercy,” Combs stated.
He apologized to Ventura and her household, and to Jane. To Jane he stated, “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m sorry that I brought you into my mess.”
Combs additionally apologized to abuse victims all over the world who might have been triggered by the surveillance footage of him assaulting Ventura.
Regarding the video he stated, “My actions were disgusting, shameful and sick. I was sick. Sick from the drugs, I was out of control. I needed help but I didn’t get the help. Because of that I can make no excuse.”
Combs stated he understood the severity of his convictions and pledged, “I’ll never put my hands on another person again. I know that I’ve learned my lesson.”
“I lost all my businesses, I lost my career, I totally destroyed my reputation. But most of all, I lost my self-respect. I’ve been humbled and broken to my core. I hate myself right now. I’ve been stripped down to nothing. I really am truly sorry for it all, no matter what they say,” he stated.
Combs grew emotional when he turned to apologize to his youngsters and mom seated in the courtroom.
Earlier, a number of of Combs’ youngsters addressed the decide, pleading with him to give their father a lenient sentence.
“I ask you to give my father a second chance, a second chance at life, a second chance to right his wrongs, a second chance to be the man that he truly is,” Justin Combs stated, calling his father his “superhero.”
“Seeing him broken down and stripped of everything is something I will never forget.”
Three of Combs’ daughters gave tearful addresses to the court.
“We know he isn’t perfect and he has made many mistakes and we aren’t here to excuse any of those mistakes. But your honor, he is still our dad, and we still need him present in our lives,” Jessie Combs stated.
His daughter D’Lila Combs pleaded with the decide to launch Combs to heal out of the media highlight.
“Please, your honor, please, give our family the chance to heal together, to rebuild, to change, to move forward, not as a headline but as human beings who are trying to do better,” she stated.
Judge Subramanian thanked Combs’ youngsters for addressing the court. “I know how hard it was to stand up here and tell me those things but it’s very important for me to hear.”
The protection additionally performed a ten-minute campaign-style video highlighting Combs’ life together with his household and good works.
Combs’ protection group gave a greater than three-hour presentation that dominated the court day. Judge Subramanian allowed 5 of Combs’ attorneys to argue for a lenient sentence on his behalf in addition to the character witness statements. A reverend from Miami additionally informed the decide that he’d take private accountability for Combs’ rehabilitation when he’s launched.
While the court heard a number of pleas from Combs’ supporters Friday, the victims who testified at trial had been noticeably absent from the listening to.
Ventura, in a letter submitted forward of the proceedings, wrote that she fears for the security of herself and her household if Combs is launched. She informed the decide she is retaining “as private and quiet” as attainable for concern of retribution.
Prosecutor Christy Slavik learn an excerpt from Ventura’s letter in regards to the lasting trauma she nonetheless experiences.
“I spent the last seven years of my life slowly rebuilding myself – physically getting clean from the drug abuse Sean Combs forced and encouraged, and mentally understanding how to live with a seemingly insurmountable level of trauma,” Ventura wrote. “The horrors I endured drove me to have thoughts of suicide – ones I almost followed through on, if not for my family’s intervention and urging that I seek professional care.”
Jane didn’t submit a letter weighing in on Combs’ sentence.
A former worker of Combs who testified at trial below the pseudonym “Mia” was slated to communicate on the listening to, however on Friday morning Slavik stated she’d modified her thoughts.
Combs’ attorneys had submitted a letter opposing Mia talking on the listening to earlier in the week that Slavik referred to as “bullying.”
The decide agreed and admonished the protection on the bench Friday. “The tone of the defense’s letter was inappropriate and so I agree with Ms. Slavik on that point,” he stated.
Slavik spent lower than an hour in complete addressing Combs’ sentencing for the federal government, however made clear its stance that his claimed regret is disingenuous.
“It’s clear that the defendant doesn’t understand or appreciate the gravity of his criminal conduct,” Slavik stated.
Combs doesn’t “fully grapple with how his actions got him here. His respect for the law is just lip service.”
The prosecutor stated Combs and his attorneys have minimized the violence tied to his conviction.
“The defendant’s abuse was consistent, casual even, but life-altering for those on the bruised end of it,” Slavik stated.
“Today the court has the opportunity to send a message to the victims in this case, to all victims of abuse and exploitation, and to the public – that the defendant’s crimes are serious, that victims matters, and that people who abuse, exploit, and manipulate will be punished,” Slavik stated.
Slavik knocked Combs for lining up talking engagements for as quickly as subsequent week with the supposition that he’d be launched.
“He has booked speaking engagements in Miami for next week,” Slavik stated. “That is the height of hubris, your Honor.”
Combs’ lawyer Xavier Donaldson later stated he’d organized engagements for Combs to start educating inmates, as he’s began doing in his detention in latest months. The director of a Miami nonprofit that helps convicted residents reenter society additionally stated on the listening to that he hoped to work with Combs to develop his management and enterprise curriculum.
It is unclear the place Combs will serve his prison sentence, however Judge Subramanian stated he hopes Combs will proceed working together with his fellow inmates.