🔗 Share this article

The music mogul Sean Combs is set to be his sentence on Friday by a US district judge in New York City, following his conviction earlier this year on charges related to prostitution.

Here is a overview of his criminal case: what he was indicted for, what happened at trial, and potential next steps.

What Charges Was He Convicted On?

During July, after an eight-week trial, a panel of jurors convicted Combs of two counts of transporting individuals for prostitution. He was found not guilty of the more severe allegations against him, racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, which could have resulted in the potential of a life sentence.

The charges on which he was found guilty each have a maximum sentence of a decade. Combs had entered a not guilty plea to all of the charges.

The presiding judge, Arun Subramanian, who presided over the trial, will deliver the sentence on Friday, with the hearing due to begin at 10:00 AM Eastern Time in a federal courthouse in downtown Manhattan.

Combs, fifty-five, has been detained without bond at the Brooklyn metropolitan detention center since his apprehension in September last year. Since the decision, the judge has rejected multiple bail applications from Combs’s legal team, and earlier this week Subramanian also denied a request to overturn the guilty verdicts.

What Was Combs Facing?

Government attorneys accused the music executive of leveraging his status and resources, and using violence, threats and blackmail, to coerce former partners into participating in sex parties involving drugs with male escorts. Such events were often referred to by the accused as “hotel nights”, which prosecutors claimed Combs orchestrated, watched, pleasured himself to and occasionally recorded.

The prosecution alleged that for more than two decades, Combs operated a criminal enterprise – assisted by staff and allies – to conduct and conceal crimes including sex-trafficking, drug distribution, bribery and abduction.

Although found guilty on two counts, Combs has denied any misconduct. His attorneys have maintained that every encounter was mutually agreed and that no illicit organization existed.

What Happened During the Trial?

The prosecution presented more than 30 witnesses, including former partners of Combs – artist Cassie Ventura and a second individual who testified under the pseudonym of “Jane” – who described the so-called “freak-offs” in explicit terms, and claimed that Combs coerced and threatened them into taking part.

Ventura was the key witness for the prosecution. She stated that during her long-term relationship with Combs, he subjected her to various forms of mistreatment and to extortion. The jury was presented with the 2016 hotel surveillance footage of Combs assaulting Ventura in a hallway. Jane also testified of a physical confrontation with Combs.

Additional testimony included former employees, male escorts, police officers, hotel employees and public figures including musician Kid Cudi and singer Dawn Richard. Combs did not testify.

Combs’s defense attorneys acknowledged past instances of abuse, but disputed that any force or sex trafficking occurred. They argued that every sexual act was consensual and part of a “alternative lifestyle”, and argued that Ventura and Jane were willing participants in the sex acts.

What Sentence Might He Face?

Combs’s lawyers have asked the judge for a sentence of no more than 14 months in prison, which, given time already served, would permit his freedom by year's end. They argue that Combs has already been “adequately punished” by serving 13 months in the “harsh environment” at the facility.

The prosecution, however, have requested at least 135 months (over a decade) and a half-million-dollar penalty. In court filings, they portrayed Combs as “unrepentant” and said that “his history and characteristics demonstrate years of abuse and violence.

What Statements Were Made By the Victims?

The prosecution filed multiple statements from victims to the judge ahead of the sentencing, including one from Ventura.

“While the jury did not seem to understand or believe that I engaged in freak-offs because of the pressure and intimidation the defendant used against me, I know that is the reality, and his sentence should account for the truth of the evidence and my lived experience as a survivor,” Ventura stated.

“I am so fearful that if he walks free, his first actions will be immediate revenge towards me and others who testified about his abuse, at court,” she wrote.

“If there is one thing I have learned from this experience, it is that victims and survivors will never be safe,” she added. “I hope that your ruling takes into account the facts at hand that the panel overlooked.”

What Comes Next?

Following the court's decision, Combs’s attorneys could challenge the decision. Combs’s team is also likely to contest his verdict.

Separately, Combs is confronting dozens of civil cases accusing him of misconduct and further offenses. He has denied all allegations in those suits.