\n<\/p>\n
\n\tSean Combs<\/a> claims in a new court filing that his recent conviction on federal charges of transportation to engage in prostitution<\/a> was \u201cunprecedented,\u201d so the court should vacate the jury\u2019s verdict and fully acquit him \u2013 or grant him a new trial \u201cfocused solely\u201d on those two counts.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cTo our knowledge, Mr. Combs is the only person ever convicted of violating the statute for conduct anything like this,\u201d the new 62-page motion filed overnight in federal court in Manhattan reads. \u201cSean Combs sits in jail based on evidence that he paid adult male escorts and entertainers who engaged in consensual sexual activities with his former girlfriends, which he videotaped and later watched with the girlfriends. That is not prostitution, and if it is, his conviction is unconstitutional.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tCombs and his lawyers claim his case is an outlier under the Mann Act \u2013 the federal statute that bars interstate commerce related to prostitution\u00a0\u2013 because Combs didn\u2019t make any money off the activity, no minors were involved, and the sex workers \u201cchose to travel and engage in the activity voluntarily.\u201d They argue Combs\u2019 acquittal earlier this month <\/a>on his most serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking proves he did not coerce R&B singer Casandra \u201cCassie\u201d Ventura<\/a> or a more recent ex-girlfriend who testified under the pseudonym \u201cJane\u201d<\/a> into the so-called hotel freak-offs where he choreographed the sex acts between the women and the male escorts while he masturbated and recorded.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt is undisputed that he had no commercial motive and that all involved were adults,\u201d the new filing states. \u201cThe proof at trial showed that [Combs] typically hired the services of male escorts or dancers advertised openly through lawful businesses, that the men were paid for their time, and that they enjoyed the activities and had friendships with Ms. Ventura and Jane and were not merely traveling to have sex for money.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tCombs and his lawyers call the videos he recorded \u201camateur pornography\u201d and say \u201cpaying people to film them in sexual performances is protected by the First Amendment.\u201d The filing, signed by Combs\u2019 appellate lawyer, Alexandra Shapiro, says that the very least, Combs is entitled to a new trial on the Mann Act charges that doesn\u2019t include the \u201csevere spillover prejudice\u201d from the \u201creams of inflammatory evidence\u201d that jurors heard related to the failed racketeering and sex trafficking charges.<\/p>\n