Lawyers for Sean "Diddy" Combs urged a U.S. judge late on Monday to impose a 14-month prison sentence on the hip-hop mogul after he was convicted of prostitution-related offenses, but acquitted on more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering.
Combs, 55, faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison after a Manhattan jury found him guilty in July on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He pleaded not guilty and is expected to appeal his conviction.
In a court filing, the Combs legal team urged the judge to impose the lesser sentence, followed by supervised release with mandatory drug treatment, therapy, and group counselling, arguing it would be "sufficient, but not greater than necessary" under federal sentencing law.
Prosecutors have until 29 September to recommend a sentence and have said that a "substantial" prison term is warranted, but acknowledged that federal sentencing guidelines appear to recommend no more than 5-1/4 years.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian is expected to sentence Combs on 3 October. Subramanian has also scheduled a hearing for Thursday to consider Combs' motion to set the conviction aside.
Combs founded Bad Boy Records and is credited with popularising hip-hop in American culture.
During a two-month trial, prosecutors said Combs coerced two former girlfriends into days-long, drug-fuelled sex marathons known as "Freak Offs" with male prostitutes.
Both women: rhythm and blues singer Casandra Ventura, known as Cassie, and a woman known by the pseudonym Jane, testified that Combs physically attacked them and threatened to cut off financial support if they resisted his sexual encounters.
Lawyers for Combs did not deny there was abuse, but argued there was no direct link between what they called domestic violence and the women's participation in the "Freak Offs."
They argued that Ventura and Jane consented to the encounters because they loved Combs and wanted to make him happy.
Combs' lawyers have said voyeurism, or paying to watch others have sex, does not constitute engaging in prostitution.
Prosecutors countered that Combs' direct involvement in sexual activity wasn't required.
Combs was arrested in September 2024 and has remained in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since then.
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Lawyers warn that the case could eventually involve up to 1.8 million UK drivers across 14 brands, potentially making it the largest consumer class action in British legal history.
Official Tbilisi is aiming to establish a genuine and meaningful strategic partnership with Washington.
European stock markets opened the week on a positive note, buoyed by hopes of easing trade tensions between the U.S. and China and declining geopolitical risks in the Middle East.
The trilateral meeting between Iran, Azerbaijan, and Russia aimed at strengthening economic and transport cooperation is considered a key platform for the region.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
Authorities in California have identified the dismembered body discovered in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been missing from Lake Elsinore since April 2024.
A tsunami threat was issued in Chile after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Drake Passage on Friday. The epicenter was located 135 miles south of Puerto Williams on the north coast of Navarino Island.
The war in Ukraine has reached a strategic impasse, and it seems that the conflict will not be solved by military means. This creates a path toward one of two alternatives: either a “frozen” phase that can last indefinitely or a quest for a durable political regulation.
The Gaza summit held on 13 October in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, is being hailed as a significant diplomatic milestone for securing peace in the region.
A nor’easter bringing heavy rain and strong winds has caused widespread flooding across New Jersey.
Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina postponed a planned national address on Monday after a group of soldiers threatened to seize the headquarters of the state broadcaster, according to the presidency.
The European Union’s next wave of eastward enlargement, particularly involving candidate countries in Central and Eastern Europe, could prove decisive for Europe’s energy security and competitiveness.
Venezuela has closed its embassy in Oslo, Norway’s foreign ministry confirmed on Monday, days after opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.
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