A New York jury found Sean “Diddy” Combs not guilty of federal sex trafficking and racketeering Wednesday, following two days of deliberations.
According to NBC News, the jury did, however, convict Combs on “the Mann Act transportation of former girlfriends,” involving Cassie Ventura and a woman referred to as “Jane.” The Washington Post reported that the two counts Combs was found guilty of — transportation to engage in prostitution — each have a maximum sentence of 10 years.
“Inner City Press” writer Matthew Russell Lee reported that Combs’ lawyers are trying to immediately have him bonded out of custody in light of Wednesday’s verdict, as he was only convicted of the two lesser counts.
“This is his first conviction, and it’s a prostitution offense,” defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said while asking the judge to allow Combs to travel home to his home in Miami, Florida.
Jurors heard testimony from three women who accused Combs of physical or sexual abuse. Cassie Ventura, who dated Combs from 2007 to 2018, testified that Combs “stifled” her music career while forcing her to participate in “freak offs,” which often entailed her having sex with other men in Combs’ presence. Ventura said the drug-fueled ordeals left her sleep-deprived and dehydrated, as they would last for days on end.
Another victim, who used the alias “Mia,” worked as Combs’ assistant for eight years. She accused Combs of forcing her to perform oral sex and sneaking into her bed to penetrate her without her consent. She also claimed Combs hurled objects at her and threw her against a wall.
A third woman, who used the pseudonym “Jane,” dated Combs from 2021 to 2024. She testified about “hotel nights,” which allegedly were sexual rendezvous arranged by Combs. Combs reportedly watched these encounters, which Jane said she had to be under the influence of drugs to participate.
The defense did not call a single witness to testify. Instead, they presented texts between Combs and the alleged victims, which they believe proved the sex encounters were consensual and non-coercive. They compared Combs and Ventura to “swingers” — and claimed the issues in their relationship stemmed from Combs dating other women, not from the alleged “freak offs.”
Conversely, prosecutors said Ventura and Jane were not willing participants as Combs threatened their careers and used violence when they did not comply. Both women also testified that they were often on heavy drugs when Combs made them have sex with male escorts.
Jurors also heard testimony from Kid Cudi, who testified about his Porsche being destroyed by a Molotov cocktail outside his home in 2012. Weeks earlier, Combs reportedly discovered the rapper was dating Venutra and suggested his car would be blown up.
Combs was arrested on September 16, 2024, outside a Manhattan hotel on federal charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs has been denied bail three times, as Judge Andrew L. Carter determined there was a “serious risk” of witness tampering in this case.
Federal authorities raided Combs’ homes in Holmby Hills, California, and Miami in March 2024. Reports indicated that the raids were connected to an ongoing sex trafficking investigation that resulted in his arrest months later.
The raids also occurred four months after Ventura accused him of sex trafficking and abuse. In a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, she alleged that Combs drugged her and forced her to have sex with other men. The pair settled the lawsuit a day after its filing.
However, in May 2024, CNN publicized hotel surveillance footage allegedly showing Combs assaulting Ventura at the InterContinental hotel in Los Angeles,. Two days later, Combs released a video expressing remorse for his behavior.
“I went and I sought out professional help. I got into going to therapy, going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I’m so sorry. But I’m committed to be a better man each and every day. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m truly sorry,” he said.
Eddy Garcia, the security supervisor at the InterContinental hotel, said Combs paid him $30,000 to ensure the footage was destroyed because it would ruin his career. Garcia said his boss received $50,000, while another colleague got $20,000.
Garcia said staff also signed a nondisclosure agreement which stipulated that Combs was getting the only copy of the 2016 footage. The document also stated there was a $1 million penalty for breaching the agreement.
Ventura testified that Combs settled their lawsuit for $20 million, while the hotel paid her $10 million for allegedly covering up evidence of the 2016 assault.
Two more accusers came forward a week after Ventura sued Combs. One of the women claimed Combs drugged and raped her at Syracuse University in New York in 1991. Combs denied those allegations before a third accuser, Liza Gardner, levied similar allegations against him.
Days after footage of the Ventura assault was publicized, two more women filed lawsuits against Combs. One of those women was April Lampros, a New York Fashion Institute of Technology student who reportedly met Combs in 1994. Lampros accused Combs of sexually assaulting her on four occasions between the mid-1990s and the early 2000s.
Combs has been accused of committing or facilitating sexual abuse in at least 30 other lawsuits — including one, filed in October, which alleges he and Jay-Z raped a 13-year-old girl in New York in 2000. The accuser in that case had her lawsuit dismissed in February.
Combs turned down a plea deal days before his trial began.
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[Feature Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File]
