Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison following his conviction on prostitution-related charges.
The 55-year-old hip-hop icon was handed a 50-month sentence on Friday by Judge Arun Subramanian in Manhattan after an emotional daylong hearing.
Prosecutors had pushed for an 11-year term, while Combs’s defense team argued for just 14 months, which would have effectively counted as time served, since he has already spent more than a year in custody in Brooklyn.
Before sentencing, Combs addressed the court, expressing regret and pleading for leniency. “I am truly sorry. I beg your honour for mercy,” he said.
Although a jury cleared him in July of more serious charges including sex trafficking and racketeering, Combs was convicted of two counts of transporting individuals across state lines for prostitution under the federal Mann Act.
Letters and statements from victims and family members were presented during the proceedings.
His former longtime girlfriend, singer Casandra Ventura (known as Cassie), detailed years of abuse, coercion, and violent incidents during their relationship.
She recalled being forced into “freak offs”, sexual encounters orchestrated and sometimes recorded by Combs.
“The entire courtroom watched actual footage of Combs kicking and beating me as I tried to run away from a freak off in 2016,” Ventura wrote in her statement.
She said she continues to suffer nightmares and flashbacks and has relocated with her family out of fear of retaliation.
Another woman, identified only as Jane, supported Ventura’s account.
Prosecutor Christy Slavik argued that Combs had shown little genuine remorse.
“It’s as though he thinks the law doesn’t apply to him,” she told the court, pointing out that Combs had already scheduled public appearances in Miami in expectation of a light sentence.
His defense lawyer, Nicole Westmoreland, countered by describing Combs as an influential figure who has inspired the Black community and advocated for social justice.
She urged the court not to “warehouse him in a prison,” saying he was “a human being who has made mistakes.”
Several of Combs’s children spoke emotionally in his defense. Quincy Brown, his eldest, called him “a changed man.”
His daughter D’Lila Combs pleaded with the court: “Please, please give our family the chance to heal together. Not as headlines but as human beings.”
Combs’s mother, Janice, and his six children were all present in court for the sentencing.
