Sean 'Diddy' Combs sentenced to more than 4 years in prison on prostitution-related crimes

A Manhattan federal judge sentenced hip-hop artist Sean "Diddy" Combs to 4 years and 2 months in prison for his conviction on two counts of prostitution-related charges, calling them "serious offenses that irreparably harmed two women."

Friday’s sentencing started around 11 a.m. and lasted until late afternoon when Combs, 55, addressed the court to say he was a changed man.

"Domestic violence will always be a heavy burden that I will have to forever carry," he told the judge. "My actions were disgusting, shameful and sick. I was sick. Sick from the drugs. I was out of control. I needed help, but I didn't get the help."

Prosecutors asked the judge to give Combs 11½ years behind bars, saying he was "unrepentant" for his crimes.

Lawyers for the rap mogul vowed that he has become reformed during the 13 months he spent locked up in a Brooklyn federal jail awaiting sentencing. They were hoping he would be free by the end of November.

Combs was found guilty in July after an eight-week trial of promoting travel for the purpose of prostitution — violations of the Mann Act — for flying male escorts across the country and internationally over a 15-year period to engage in dayslong, drug-fueled sex marathons he called "freak-offs" or "hotel nights."

The Bad Boy Records founder was cleared of more serious racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges that carried a possible lifetime punishment.

U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian agreed Friday with defense lawyers that Combs could not be punished for the acquitted crimes, but said he was allowed to factor the Grammy-Award-winning producer’s character and history in calculating his punishment.

The judge spoke less about the prostitution-related charges during the hearing and focused mostly on the treatment of the women.

"You abused them physically, emotionally and psychologically. And you used that abuse to get your way, especially when it came to freak-offs and hotel nights," Subramanian said. "The defense's argument that all of this was unrelated to the offense conduct in this case doesn't hold up."

Casandra Ventura, who performed under the stage name Cassie, and a former girlfriend who testified under the pseudonym Jane testified about being forced to participate in humiliating and sometimes painful sexual sessions with men they had never met before while Combs watched and often recorded.

Manhattan federal prosecutors charged during the trial that he used his music, liquor, fashion and lifestyle conglomerate to fund and support the freak-offs.

Both women said they were willing participants initially, but became disenchanted with Combs when it became clear that sex was the entire basis for the relationship.

"The evidence of the abuse in connection with freak-offs and hotel nights is massive," Subramanian said Friday. "I was sitting right here for the testimony from Ms. Ventura and from Jane. We read about it in text messages and emails. We saw it in the images of gashes, bruises, broken doors, and we saw the video of your savage beating of Ms. Ventura. This was subjugation, and it drove both Ms. Ventura and Jane to thoughts of ending their lives. That is the reality of what happened."

Combs made an impassioned plea for mercy from the judge at the end of the hearing Friday.

During the trial, prosecutors played a surveillance video from 2016 that showed Combs yank Ventura to the floor of a Los Angeles hotel, then kick her repeatedly and attempt to drag her by the hood of her sweatshirt back to his room.

Defense lawyers admitted Combs' behavior was out of control, but blamed the death of his father when he was 3 years old and knee surgery that sparked a painkiller addiction. According to testimony, Combs had one of his girlfriends or personal assistants travel with a Gucci clutch filled with ecstasy, mushrooms, a drug called "tusy," Special K, cocaine and other illicit substances to guarantee that the sessions would go on for days.

Five of Combs’ defense lawyers spoke during the sentencing hearing, detailing how Combs had touched their lives and the lives of others.

They said that during his time in the Metropolitan Detention Center from September 2024 to present, Combs became drug-free and started a program "free game with Diddy" to teach the other inmates business and self-help skills that he developed over his life.

"There has not been a fight in that unit since Sean pulled everyone together with free game," defense lawyer Brian Steel told the court.

Combs’ adult children also spoke, tearfully pleading with the judge not to take their father away from them.

"In front of us is a changed man," his son Quincy Brown said. "Our father has learned a major lesson. Week after week, we have seen him evolve. It's something we haven't seen in 15 years. He is completely transformed."

Subramanian acknowledged Combs' cultural contributions, his accomplishments in business and his jail program as mitigating factors.

"A history of good works can't wash away the record in this case, which showed that you abused the power and control that you had over the lives of women you professed to love dearly," the judge said.

Steel told CNN after the hearing the sentence was "un-American" and vowed to appeal.

It was not immediately clear where Combs will serve his sentence.