Despite being acquitted of severe charges in his seven-week sex-trafficking trial, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ request for bail was ultimately denied on Wednesday. While awaiting his sentence hearing, the hip hop mogul has been ordered to remain in custody.
Ahead of the verdict, Diddy came into the courtroom wearing a canary yellow sweater. As he turned to his family, he flashed a smile at them, while otherwise keeping his head down.
A courtroom sketch unveiled by the Associated Press aptly captured the music mogul’s reaction after a renewed bail request from his attorneys was refuted. Sitting aghast at the result, Combs’ jaw dropped and eyes widened.
Diddy’s message to his family after the bail hearing
After his bail hearing, the Revolt founder told his family, “We’re gonna make it through this,” adding that he will be seeing them when he gets out. Blowing kisses to rows occupied by his family and friends in the courtroom, he said, “I love you all. Be strong.” Right before he was escorted back into detention, he sent a message to his mother: “I love you, mom.”
As per ABC News, a federal judge turned down the multiple bail requests filed by the rapper’s lawyers in advance. His decision was tied to Combs’ calls and messages to witnesses serving as evidence, with there being a “serious risk of witness tampering.” Right after the verdict, Diddy’s attorneys again put forth a request of $1 million bail, which was also denied.
Diddy acquitted of sex trafficking charges – Here’s what happened
In a letter to Indian-origin Judge Subramanian, his defence team noted that Combs had already been in prison for 10 months. “His sentencing exposure — which we fully respect and do not seek to minimize in any way — is in fact low, and so is any corresponding risk of flight,” they wrote.
Prosecutors countered their plea in a separate letter, citing his “long, well-documented history of violent, coercive and retaliatory behaviour. The document included a message from Deonte Nash, one of Ventura’s friends who even testified during the trial, saying, the “danger [Combs] poses to the public and to the individuals who have risked everything by coming forward.”
She argued that the Bad Boy Records founder has repeatedly “escaped meaningful accountability” over the years, and “if he is released now, I have no doubt he will see it as yet another license to continue intimidating, threatening, and harming people who challenge or expose him.
The judge assigned to the case cited his “yearslong pattern of violence,” finding him guilty on two out of five counts even though the most serious charges – one count of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion – were brushed off. The charges he was convicted on were two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution in relation to Cassie Ventura and “Jane,” both of whom are his ex-girlfriends and prime witnesses in the high-profile case.
Diddy still faces up to 20 years in prison. Judge Subramanian has since scheduled a remote hearing to finalise the sentencing scheduling since the rapper’s team has urged for the proceeding to be expedited. This would take place next Tuesday at 2 pm ET. As of now a sentencing date has been set for October 3.