THE NEW YORK TIMES: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is sentenced to more than four years in prison, short of maximum term

Sean Combs, whose talents as a music mogul and entrepreneur provided him a great fortune and a firm place in A-list society, was sentenced to four years and two months in federal prison Friday after being convicted of transporting prostitutes across state lines to participate in drug-fuelled, marathon sex sessions with women he was dating.

Combs, one of the most successful producers in the history of hip-hop, had faced a maximum sentence of up to 10 years on each of the two counts of which he was convicted in July.

Judge Arun Subramanian, who presides in the US District Court in Manhattan, said he recognised Combs as a “self-made artist” who inspired and lifted up communities with his philanthropic work and was devoted to his family.

But, he said, “a history of good works can’t wash away the record in this case, which shows that you abused the power and control over the lives of women who you professed to love.”

The judge also imposed a fine of $500,000, the maximum possible, and said the sentence should “send a message to abusers and victims alike that exploitation and violence against women is met with real accountability.”

Combs’ sentence will be shorter than 50 months because he will get credit for the year he spent in a Brooklyn jail while he awaited trial.

Combs appeared stunned and angry as the extent of the sentence set in. After the court was adjourned, he sighed, turned back to face his family and shook his head, telling them repeatedly that he was sorry, hand to heart.

He grabbed his things and, before exiting, told his supporters that he loved them.

Combs, his family and his lawyers had spared no effort in seeking leniency from Subramanian, with each of Combs’ six adult children giving brief remarks in court Friday, expressing their love for their father and, often in tears, asking for mercy.

“Please, your honour, please, give our family the chance to heal together,” said D’Lila Combs, one of Combs’ daughters.

The defence showed a video in the courtroom Friday that celebrated Sean Combs as an inspiring figure and a generous philanthropist, prompting Combs to cover his face and sob, his body heaving.

Just before the sentencing, Combs stood to address the court and apologised to his mother, to his children, to the lovers that he abused and to “all of the victims of domestic violence.”

“My actions were disgusting, shameful and sick,” he said.

Wearing a light-coloured crew-neck sweater and a white-collared shirt, he addressed Subramanian directly. “I ask your honour for mercy,” he said. “I beg your honour for mercy.”

After an eight-week trial in May and June, Combs, who was described in court documents by his many nicknames — Puff Daddy or Diddy, to name just two — was acquitted of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, the most serious charges against him. They carried a potential life sentence, and Combs dropped to his knees in the courtroom when the jury verdict was read.

But he was found guilty of the prostitution charges after the trial, which presented an up-close look at his unbridled libertine lifestyle. The nation and the world learned about Combs’ most intimate proclivities, the bottles of baby oil that he asked his girlfriends to douse themselves in, and the drug-fuelled sexual marathons called “freak-offs” or “hotel nights.”

The trial also included abundant testimony about Combs’ violent behaviour toward his girlfriends, outbursts that his lawyers acknowledged but said were not evidence of sex trafficking or racketeering.

On Friday, Brian Steel, one of Combs’ lawyers, linked his client’s violence to a long-term addiction to painkillers, which he said began with a medical operation in 2000, and said that Combs got high every day for years after that.

Casandra Ventura, the singer known as Cassie, who was in an on-and-off relationship with Combs for about 11 years, testified in the trial that she had suffered numerous beatings.

Jurors were repeatedly shown security footage from a Los Angeles hotel in 2016, images that had leaked before the trial, that showed Combs throwing Ventura down as she walked to an elevator, then kicking her and dragging her down a hallway.

In his closing remarks during the sentencing, Subramanian praised the “strong women” who came to testify about “horrific stories.”

“To Ms. Ventura and the other brave survivors that came forward, I want to say first: We heard you,” he said. “I am proud of you for coming to the court to tell the world what really happened.”

Both the prosecution and defence had submitted sentencing recommendations, and the 50 months that Combs received fell in the middle of what each side had sought.

The prosecution had asked for no less than 135 months’ imprisonment — 11 years and three months — calling Combs “unrepentant” and detailing instances of violence and intimidation that were testified to at his trial.

The defence team had called for a sentence of no more than 14 months — which, accounting for the year Combs has already served — would have allowed him to walk free by the end of 2025.

Combs rose from a childhood in the working-class New York City suburb of Mt. Vernon to the pinnacle of the music industry, running a label, Bad Boy Records, that propelled artists like rapper Notorious B.I.G. to stardom. Combs became an entertainment mogul, creating cable and online music platforms, and ventured into the clothing and alcohol businesses.

Celebrities flocked to the White Parties he hosted — held at his Hamptons estate, in St.-Tropez, France, and beyond. The celebrities in his orbit included Martha Stewart, Anna Wintour, Salman Rushdie and Oprah Winfrey.

But this week, he was reduced to pleading with a judge to show leniency.

“I lost my way,” he wrote in a letter to Subramanian on Thursday. “Lost in the drugs and the excess.”

On Tuesday, the judge had rejected a bid by Combs’ lawyers to have his conviction vacated on the grounds that it was an unjust use of the Mann Act, which since 1910 has made it a federal offense to transport people across state lines for the purposes of prostitution.

Combs’ legal team argued that the Mann Act, which had underpinned his conviction, did not apply because Combs did not himself have sex with the prostitutes and did not benefit financially from the encounters.

The judge rejected the argument, saying that the most plain definition of prostitution is “sex for sale.” Ample evidence was offered during the trial of Combs paying for the prostitutes.

Before delivering his sentence Friday, the judge also said the defence’s narrative of freak-offs as paying escorts for time, not sex, was “flatly inconsistent with both reality and any acceptance of responsibility.”

Even after Friday’s sentencing, Combs’ lawyers are hoping they have an avenue to avoid Combs serving his full sentence.

A lawyer for Combs has acknowledged that people close to her client have approached the Trump administration to request a pardon on his behalf.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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