Diddy found not guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering but convicted of lesser charge
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has been found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution, but not guilty of all other charges including sex-trafficking and racketeering.
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Rapper and producer Sean 'Diddy' Combs was on trial in New York for crimes including sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, as well as racketeering.
The mixed result means the 55-year-old has escaped a lifetime behind bars, but could still serve up to a decade in prison.
It is likely to end his career as a hit-making music executive, fashion entrepreneur, brand ambassador and reality TV star.
Combs was convicted of flying people around the country, including his girlfriends, and paid male sex workers to engage in sexual encounters, a felony violation of the federal Mann Act.
He has been found guilty of transportation for prostitution of Cassie Ventura - his longtime ex-girlfriend - and of Jane, who dated Diddy between 2021 until his arrest in 2024 but testified under a pseudonym.
But the jury of eight men and four women acquitted Combs of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges, related to allegations that he used his money, power and frightening physical force to manipulate his girlfriends into hundreds of drug-fuelled sex marathons with the men.
Racketeering conspiracy, also known as RICO, covers a number of alleged crimes in a criminal scheme or enterprise.
The eight specific acts Sean Combs was accused of that fall under this charge include kidnapping, arson, bribery, witness tampering, forced labour, sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution, and possession with intent to distribute drugs.
Combs and his defence team denied the charges, arguing that the women were willing participants and that none of his violence justified the severity of the charges.
The music mogul was seen making a praying gesture to the jury as a "thank you" after the verdicts were read out.
He will be pleased as he was found not guilty of the more serious charges he was accused of, which could have seen him spend 20 years in prison.
For the charges he was found guilty of, the maximum sentence is 10 years in prison.
The judge, Arun Subramanian, thanked the jury for their work during the almost two-month long trial, calling it "inspiring".
The 12-member jury has heard from 34 witnesses during the trial, including testimonies describing "freak-off" sex parties including high-profile celebrities.
Ex-girlfriends, former employees of Diddy, male escorts and federal agents appeared on the witness stand.
It comes after defence lawyers made their final arguments for the trial on Saturday.
Defence attorney Marc Agnifilo pushed back on the "badly exaggerated trial", and said Combs had a "swinger" lifestyle, with the prosecution charging "threesomes as racketeering".
While Agnifilio said the defence "owns the domestic violence", he added Combs "is going to fight to the death to defend himself against what he didn't do".
Moving onto Combs' relationship with Cassie Ventura, who testified against against the rapper, Mr Agnifilo said the relationship was "a great modern love story".
He also described the texts between Ventura and Combs as "some of the most beautiful language" and if the public read them then they would "cry".
He added while the prosecution "is trying to get you to believe it's one-sided", it is in fact "a real relationship and they are in love".
Portraying the relationship, he went on: "It isn't hard to pick a winner - Cassie flat won. It's not a secret, he's in jail. Marshall's service doing a good job keeping him safe but in jail."
He continued: "Nobody's forcing her to do this. God bless her, she’s a sexy woman and that’s what she deserve to be."
Lawyers for Combs also mocked the prosecution for presenting bottles of baby oil as evidence that he engaged in sex trafficking during their closing arguments at his New York trial.
On the subject of Combs' former employee, who testified anonymously as 'Mia', Mr Agnifilo said she was "happy" and "loved working with Sean Combs".
In May, 'Mia' alleged the rapper sexually assaulted her "on more than one occasion".
Mr Agnifilo said the prosecution has "created a false persona of her".