American rapper and music mogul, Sean “Diddy” Combs has been handed a prison sentence of more than four years after being convicted on two counts of transporting individuals for prostitution.
Judge Arun Subramanian delivered the ruling on Friday at a New York courthouse. While acknowledging Diddy’s career achievements, the judge said the full scope of his actions could not be ignored.
“However, the court has to consider all of your history here,” Subramanian stated.
The judge also rebuked Diddy over his treatment of Cassie Ventura and another woman identified as Jane, both of whom accused him of coercing them into sex with male escorts.
“You abused them,” Subramanian declared. “Physically, emotionally and psychologically.”
Prosecutors argued that Diddy organised flights across the U.S. for encounters he termed “freak-offs,” involving his partners and male sex workers. He was arrested in September 2024 following allegations from more than 120 individuals, among them a minor, who accused him of abuse, blackmail, kidnapping and prostitution-related crimes.
In July, a jury found him guilty on two prostitution-related transportation charges linked to Ventura and Jane but cleared him of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and racketeering conspiracy.
Federal prosecutors had pushed for an 11-year sentence, describing the 55-year-old as “unrepentant” and a continuing source of fear for his victims. His defense sought a far lighter penalty of 14 months, equal to the time he has already spent in custody since his arrest.
Diddy has been held for about 14 months at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, one of the U.S.’s toughest federal facilities.
