🔗 Share this article Sean Combs Court Decision: Key Details You Should Understand Sean "Diddy" Combs is scheduled for his sentence on Friday morning by a federal judge in New York City, after his conviction earlier this year on charges related to prostitution. Here is a summary of his legal proceedings: the charges he faced, the trial events, and what might happen next. What Was He Found Guilty Of? During July, after an eight-week trial, a panel of jurors convicted Combs of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He was found not guilty of the most serious charges against him, racketeering conspiracy and human trafficking, which could have resulted in the potential of a life imprisonment. The offenses on which he was found guilty each have a maximum penalty of a decade. Combs had entered a not guilty plea to every count. The presiding judge, Arun Subramanian, who presided over the trial, will hand down the ruling on Friday, with the hearing due to begin at 10:00 AM Eastern Time in a federal courthouse in downtown Manhattan. Combs, 55, has been detained without bond at the Brooklyn metropolitan detention center since his apprehension in the previous September. Since the decision, the judge has rejected two bail requests from Combs’s lawyers, and recently Subramanian also rejected a motion to set aside the guilty verdicts. What Was Combs Facing? Federal prosecutors accused the music executive of leveraging his status and resources, and employing intimidation and coercion, to force two of his former girlfriends into participating in sex parties involving drugs with paid companions. Such events were often called by the accused as “hotel nights”, which prosecutors claimed Combs organized, observed, pleasured himself to and occasionally recorded. The prosecution alleged that for more than two decades, Combs operated a criminal enterprise – aided by employees and associates – to carry out and conceal offenses including sex trafficking, drug dealing, bribery and kidnapping. Although found guilty on two counts, Combs has disputed wrongdoing. His lawyers have maintained that all sexual activity was consensual and that no illicit organization was present. What Transpired At Trial? The government's case presented more than 30 witnesses, including two of Combs’s former girlfriends – artist Cassie Ventura and a second individual who gave evidence using the alias Jane – who recounted the so-called “freak-offs” in explicit terms, and claimed that Combs coerced and threatened them into participating. Ventura was the key witness for the prosecution. She testified that during her 11-year, on-off relationship with Combs, he exposed her to physical, sexual and emotional abuse and to blackmail. The jury was shown the 2016 hotel surveillance footage of Combs attacking Ventura in a corridor. Jane also testified of a physical confrontation with Combs. Other witnesses included former employees, male escorts, police officers, hotel staff and public figures including rapper Kid Cudi and artist Dawn Richard. Combs chose not to take the stand. Combs’s defense attorneys admitted past instances of domestic violence, but disputed that any coercion or trafficking took place. They maintained that all sexual activity was agreed upon and part of a “alternative lifestyle”, and argued that Ventura and Jane were consenting adults in the sex acts. What Sentence Might He Face? Combs’s attorneys have asked the judge for a penalty of a maximum of 14 months in jail, which, given time already served, would permit his freedom before the end of the year. They claim that Combs has already been “adequately punished” by serving 13 months in the “terrible conditions” at the detention center. Federal prosecutors, however, have sought at least 135 months (11 years and three months) and a half-million-dollar penalty. In legal documents, they described Combs as “unrepentant” and said that “his background and behavior” show a pattern of misconduct. What Was Said By the Victims? The prosecution filed several victim impact statements to the court before 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 truth, and his sentence should account for the truth of the evidence and my lived experience as a survivor,” Ventura wrote. “I am so fearful that if he is released, his initial steps will be immediate revenge towards me and others who testified about his misconduct, at court,” she said. “If there is one thing I have learned from this experience, it is that those affected will never be safe,” she added. “I hope that your decision considers the truths at hand that the panel overlooked.” What Happens After Sentencing? After sentencing, Combs’s attorneys could appeal against the decision. Combs’s defense is also likely to appeal his conviction. Separately, Combs faces numerous civil cases accusing him of sexual assault and further offenses. He has denied every claim in those suits.