Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, who has been found not guilty of the most serious federal charges brought against him. Photo Credit: Nikeush
Following more than a few twists – and one dramatic trial – Diddy has officially beaten the most serious federal charges, including sex trafficking by force, levied against him.
Update (7/2): This afternoon, the presiding judge rejected Diddy’s request for release pending sentencing. Additionally, the court floated a potential sentencing-hearing date in October, with the possibility of expediting the schedule should the defense wish to do so.
Below is our initial coverage of the jury’s verdict.
The jury returned a final verdict this morning after failing to reach a consensus on the lone racketeering conspiracy charge yesterday. With a possible life sentence, the latter count certainly falls into the serious category – as do two sex trafficking charges that could have each put Diddy behind bars for a minimum of 15 years.
But as summed up by CNN and others, the jury has found the 55-year-old not guilty on all three of those charges. Nevertheless, the jurors did find Diddy guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution (one count relating to his ex-partner Cassie Ventura, another to a Jane Doe victim).
Despite being the least significant of the bunch – from the perspective of their potential sentences, that is – the guilty charges still carry a maximum 10-year sentence apiece. Suffice to say that it’ll be interesting to see what the presiding judge decides here, especially as Diddy’s been locked up since last year.
Closer to the present, multiple outlets and social media reporters have described a celebratory mood for Team Diddy following the verdict. That includes hugs exchanged by several family members of the disgraced mogul, besides a victory lap of sorts for the defense counsel.
More pressingly, just like that, the conversation has shifted from whether Diddy would spend the rest of his life in prison to when he’ll be released. Unsurprisingly, his attorneys are pushing for bond pending sentencing; related letters from both sides are due back by 10 AM PST today.
Furthermore, the prosecution has made clear their plans to seek a prison sentence for the guilty-verdict crimes.
In a statement on the Diddy verdict, interim U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton, who prosecuted the case, indicated “that sex crimes are all too present in many aspects of our society.”
“Sex crimes deeply scar victims, and the disturbing reality is that sex crimes are all too present in many aspects of our society,” Clayton and Ricky Patel (the special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations) said in part. “Victims endure gut-wrenching physical and mental abuse, leading to lasting trauma. New Yorkers and all Americans want this scourge stopped and perpetrators brought to justice.”
Regarding Diddy’s career – to put it mildly, there’s been quite a lot of post-indictment professional fallout – time will tell what the future holds. But it’s safe to say celebrities and others would be wise (for a multitude of reasons, not pertaining solely to legal consequences) to abstain from organizing or participating in anything resembling a “freak off” moving forward.
