Federal prosecutors are urging a New York judge to sentence Sean “Diddy” Combs to over 11 years in prison following his conviction on prostitution-related charges.
Combs, 55, was found guilty in July of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, in violation of U.S. federal law, but was acquitted of more serious charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering. The prostitution charges each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years.
In the indictment, prosecutors alleged that Combs exploited his fame, wealth, and violence to coerce his former girlfriends, Cassie Ventura and Jane Doe, into sexual encounters he referred to as “freak-offs” or “hotel nights.”
Judge Arun Subramanian, who presided over the trial and consistently rejected the “Bad Boy For Life” rapper’s repeated bids for bail, is set to hand down Combs’ sentence on Friday. He will consider arguments from both the prosecution and the defense before issuing a sentence.
The prosecution’s sentencing recommendation, filed late Monday, emphasizes the severity of Combs’ actions, which they argue exploited vulnerable individuals for his own sexual gratification. They’re asking that Combs be sentenced to serve at least 11 years and three months in prison and pay a $500,000 fine.
“His crimes of conviction are serious and have warranted sentences over 10 years in multiple cases for defendants who, like Sean Combs, engaged in violence and put others in fear,” prosecutors wrote.
“A substantial term of imprisonment is also needed in this case because the defendant is unrepentant,” they added.
Combs has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his arrest last September.
Ventura, who testified against him with allegations of abuse and sex trafficking, submitted a three-page victim impact statement, urging the court to ensure he continues to be held accountable.
“For four days in May, while nine months pregnant with my son, I testified in front of a packed courtroom about the most traumatic and horrifying chapter in my life,” Ventura, a now-married mother of three, wrote.
I testified that from age 19, Sean Combs used violence, threats, substances, and control over my career to trap me in over a decade of abuse. He groomed me into performing repeated sex acts with hired male sex workers during multi-day ‘freak-offs,’ which occurred nearly weekly.”
Ventura said Combs manipulated her with drugs and alcohol, leaving her degraded, ill, and exhausted before forcing repeated abuse.
“Sex acts became my full-time job, used as the only way to stay in his good graces,” she said, calling her relationship with Combs “a horrific decade of my life stained by abuse, violence, forced sex, and degradation.”
Ventura added that she continues to experience daily nightmares and flashbacks and relies on psychological treatment to manage them.
“My worries that Sean Combs or his associates will come after me and my family is my reality,” she continued. “I have, in fact, moved my family out of the New York area and am keeping as private and quiet as I possibly can because I am so scared that if he walks free, his first actions will be swift retribution towards me and others who spoke up about his abuse at trial.”
The music mogul, along with his lawyers, appeared in court last Friday to argue that he should either be acquitted or granted a new trial.
“Every day, every hour, I get closer to coming home,” the rapper said, hopefully, to his family and friends in the courtroom. “Your support means more than y’all know.”
On Tuesday evening, Subramanian denied Combs’ motions.
Kelly Rissman contributed to this reporting.
