Singer and model Cassie Ventura (L) and Rap mogul P Diddy (aka Sean Combs) arrive for the traditionnal Clive Davis party on the eve of the 60th Annual Grammy Awards on January 28, 2018, in New York. (Photo: AFP)
July 2, 2025
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs was denied bail on Wednesday after a trial in which he was convicted on federal prostitution charges but found not guilty of more serious racketeering and sex trafficking crimes.
Judge Arun Subramanian declined to release the music mogul as he waits for sentencing on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
The 55-year-old hip-hop mogul had earlier been acquitted of a major racketeering charge and two sex trafficking charges that could have sent him to prison to life.
Combs bowed his head, quietly pumping his fists in his lap and bringing his hands together in prayer as the verdicts were read out. At one point, he looked towards the ceiling, appearing to express deep relief.
He shook hands with one of his lawyers and mouthed thanks to the eight-man, four-woman jury as they filed out of the courtroom.
He then fell to his knees at the defense table, where he had spent two months wondering if he would live out his days in a cell.
The verdict came after seven weeks of intense testimony, in which prosecutors had accused Combs of being the boss of a decades-long criminal enterprise, directing loyal employees and bodyguards to commit myriad offenses at his behest.