New York: Sean “Diddy” Combs dropped to his knees and prayed in the courtroom after he was acquitted of s*x trafficking and racketeering charges that could have put one of hip-hop’s celebrated figures behind bars for life. The rapper was convicted of lesser prostitution-related offences and denied bail as he awaits sentencing.
His lawyer Marc Agnifilo called the verdict Wednesday a “great victory” and said the jury “got the situation right—or certainly right enough” as he stood outside Manhattan federal court at a stand of microphones. “Today is a victory of all victories.”
The mixed verdict capped a sordid legal odyssey that shattered Combs’ affable “Puff Daddy” image and derailed his career as a Grammy-winning artist and music executive, fashion entrepreneur, brand ambassador and reality TV star.
“I’ll see you when I get out,” Combs told family members including his mother and children just before leaving the courtroom to return to jail. “We’re going to get through this.”
Combs stands convicted of two counts of a crime — transportation to engage in prostitution — that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. But jurors cleared him of three charges, two of which carried a mandatory 15 years and a maximum of life.
He was convicted of flying people around the country, including his girlfriends and male s*x workers, to engage in s*xual encounters, a felony violation of the federal Mann Act.
Combs’ lawyers said that under federal sentencing guidelines, he would likely face about two years in prison. Prosecutors, citing Combs’ violence and other factors, said the guidelines would call for at least four to five years. Locked up since his September arrest, Combs has already served nine months.
“We fight on and we’re going to win,” Agnifilo said. “And we’re not going to stop until he walks out of prison a free man to his family.”
In a triumph for Combs, the jury of eight men and four women acquitted him of racketeering conspiracy and s*x trafficking charges related to allegations that he used his money, power and frightening physical force to manipulate girlfriends into hundreds of drug-fuelled s*x marathons with men.
Combs’ defence team argued that the women were willing participants and that none of his violence justified the severity of the charges.
Agnifilo asked that Combs be released on bond immediately to await sentencing, saying the acquittals changed the calculus about whether he needed to be held.
“He’s not going to flee. He’s been given his life back,” Agnifilo said.
Judge Arun Subramanian denied it, saying Combs — for now — had not met the burden of showing by clear and convincing evidence a “lack of danger to any person or the community.”
Combs, 55, sat stoic as he heard the bond decision, then snapped his head toward Agnifilo and wrote several notes as the lawyer spoke. Finally, Combs raised his hand and waved to get the judge’s attention. But he ultimately did not speak after consulting with Agnifilo.
Leaving the courtroom for a final time, he paused to address relatives packed into rows of wooden benches who supported him throughout the eight-week trial.
“Be strong. I love you,” he added, putting his hands to his lips and pushing a dramatic kiss toward loved ones.
Earlier in the day, when he heard the jury foreperson announce “not guilty” three times, Combs pumped his fist, looked toward the jurors and held his hands up in a prayer motion. Supporters in the audience could barely contain their relief despite the judge’s admonition to avoid outbursts: When the first “not guilty” was read aloud, someone shouted, “Yeah!”
The judge will decide Combs’ punishment and suggested October 3 as a sentencing date, but a defence request to have it sooner prompted him to schedule a virtual hearing Tuesday on the matter.
Federal officials involved in the case responded to the outcome by noting that s*x crimes “are all too present in many aspects of our society.”
“New Yorkers and all Americans want this scourge stopped and perpetrators brought to justice,” Manhattan-based US Attorney Jay Clayton and Ricky J Patel, who heads federal Homeland Security Investigations’ New York office, said in a statement.
Jurors deliberated for about 13 hours over three days before announcing their verdict. It came after they said late Tuesday that they had decided on four counts but were stuck on the racketeering one. At that point, the judge told them to keep deliberating and keep the partial verdict under wraps.
Combs did not testify at his trial, which featured 34 witnesses as well as video of the rapper attacking his former girlfriend, Cassie, the R&B singer born Casandra Ventura.
Her lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, said in a statement after the verdict that “by coming forward with her experience, Cassie has left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice.”
Later, he asked the judge in a letter to deny Combs bail, saying, “Ms Ventura believes that Mr Combs is likely to pose a danger to the victims who testified in this case, including herself, as well as to the community.”
Cassie testified for four days about her turbulent, 11-year relationship with Combs, which began after she signed with his Bad Boy record label.
Cassie said Combs became obsessed with voyeuristic encounters, arranged with the help of his staff, that involved s*x workers and copious amounts of baby oil. During the s*x events, called “freak-offs” or “hotel nights”, Combs would order Cassie to do things with other men that she found humiliating, she testified.
When things did not go Combs’ way, he would beat her, she said.
Another ex-girlfriend, testifying under the pseudonym “Jane”, told the jury she repeatedly told Combs she didn’t want to have s*x with the men hired for their trysts.
“I’m not an animal. I need a break,” she told him. Nevertheless, she said, she felt “obligated” to comply with his demands, in part because he paid her rent.
The AP does not typically name people who say they have been s*xually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie has.
