Sean “Diddy” Combs’ long-awaited sentencing hearing began on Friday, with the judge quickly casting doubt on the music mogul’s acceptance of guilt for his convictions on two felony counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. In a major moment, the judge signaled he wasn’t seeing a reason to deviate from the range of about six to seven years in prison recommended by federal probation officials.
“Combs has challenged his factual guilt full-throatedly, and has even done so after trial,” U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian said at the hearing in downtown Manhattan, according to CNN. The judge said Combs “has expressed remorse for some things,” but not for what he’s been convicted of, which is transporting people to engage in commercial sex acts.
In another key moment, the judge said he believed the court is allowed to consider certain evidence brought into Combs’ trial in relation to his acquitted charges of racketeering and sex trafficking, according to The New York Times. The judge also reportedly overruled the defense’s objection to probation officials referring to Combs’ two ex-girlfriends and the male escorts linked to his convictions as “victims.”
The rulings were notable because acceptance of guilt and consideration of conduct brought under acquitted charges were two major battlegrounds in the sentencing briefs submitted by both sides ahead of Friday’s hearing. They’re expected to be key factors as the judge weighs the 14-month sentence recommended by Combs’ defense and the 11-year sentence requested by prosecutors. (Federal probation officials recommended a sentence of 70 to 87 months.)
In another dramatic moment, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik argued Friday that Combs is still operating with extreme arrogance, booking speaking engagements in Miami “for next week,” she said. “That is the height of hubris,” Slavik said, per The New York Times. (In a letter to the court submitted earlier this week, the Miami-based organization RE Entry One Inc. said that if Combs was released on time-served, he would speak at its Miami North Work Release Center on Monday, Oct. 6.)
“It’s clear: This isn’t just a case about freak-offs or hotel nights,” Slavik told the court, according to The Times. “It’s a case with real victims who have suffered real harm at the hands of the defendant. It’s about a man who did horrible things to other people to satisfy his own sexual gratification.”
Combs’ team has indicated that they will have as many as four lawyers address the court, while they also plan to show an 11-minute video highlighting Combs’ charitable work and life as a father of seven. Combs himself plans to address the judge, too.
Each of the prostitution transportation charges carries a maximum of sentence of 10 years in federal, meaning Combs could technically face up to 20 years in prison, though his actual sentence is expected to be much lighter. Combs’ request for no more than 14 months in prison would essentially amount to a sentence of time served and ensure his near-immediate release. His defense filed a tranche of letters from supporters and family members, as well as other documents — such as details about a class Combs created and taught to his fellow inmates — to argue Combs is a changed and humbled man.
Combs submitted his letter as well, in which he wrote, “In my life, I have made many mistakes, but I am no longer running from them,” he wrote. “I am so sorry for the hurt that I caused, but I understand that the mere words ‘I’m sorry’ will never be good enough as these words alone cannot erase the pain from the past.”
Prosecutors, meanwhile, are pushing for 11 years and three months in prison, arguing that he committed his crimes while subjecting his ex-girlfriends to “violence, coercion, and abuse.” The prosecution’s sentencing memo included victim impact statements from Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and a former assistant who testified under the pseudonym, “Mia.” Both asked the judge to consider their trial testimony before sentencing Combs.
“While the jury did not seem to understand or believe that I engaged in freak-offs because of the force and coercion the defendant used against me, I know that is the truth, and his sentence should reflect the reality of the evidence and my lived experience as a victim,” Ventura wrote.
