Live Updates: Sean Combs Acquitted of Sex Trafficking but Found Guilty on Lesser Charges

New York Times

2 days ago

A view from the jury box in a federal courtroom similar to the one where a panel has been listening to testimony in the trial of Sean Combs.
The jury in Sean Combs's sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial, which revealed some internal conflict during deliberations, was a racially diverse group of eight men and four women who range in age from 30 to 74 and live in Manhattan, Westchester County and the Bronx.
The court has not released the names of the jurors, which is common in high-profile trials where their safety is a concern.
On Wednesday, the jury announced that it found Mr. Combs not guilty of the most serious charges against him, sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy, while convicting him of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
During 28 days of often wrenching testimony, the jurors were punctual, attentive and, for the most part, impassive.
Jurors heard two of Mr. Combs's former girlfriends testify about years of sexual encounters with male prostitutes known as 'freak-offs' and 'hotel nights,' some of which were shown on video. They listened to testimony from former personal assistants, law enforcement officials and a hotel security officer who explained a $100,000 cash payment for incriminating video footage of a hotel assault by Mr. Combs.
In the end, however, the jurors were not persuaded that Mr. Combs had forced two former girlfriends through violence and coercion to have sex with male prostitutes against their will, the core argument of the sex-trafficking charges against him. Neither were they convinced that Mr. Combs and his employees had formed a criminal racketeering enterprise that agreed to commit a number of crimes over the course of a decade, including bribery, arson, sex-trafficking and drug distribution.
When the jurors began deliberating on Monday, they quickly raised concerns to Judge Arun Subramanian, who had sworn them in after a weeklong selection process in May.
About one hour into deliberations, the foreperson reported an issue with one juror, identified as No. 25, 'who we are concerned cannot follow your honor's instructions.' Eleven hours later, the jury said it had reached a verdict on four counts but could not on a racketeering charge because of 'unpersuadable opinions on both sides.'
In both cases, the judge told the jury to keep deliberating.
Two weeks ago, Judge Subramanian dismissed a juror after finding that he had given inconsistent answers about his residence, raising concerns that he might have been angling for a role in the case.
Mr. Combs's lawyers argued unsuccessfully that it would unfairly affect their client if that juror, a state corrections department employee who is a Black man, were removed. The original panel had at least two Black women and two Black men; the alternate who replaced the juror was a white man.
During the trial, Mr. Combs was reprimanded by the judge after he nodded vigorously at the panel when his lawyers cross-examined a witness about an violent incident that she said had taken place on a balcony. The judge called Mr. Combs's behavior 'absolutely unacceptable.' At another point, Mr. Combs smiled and mouthed 'cold' to a juror who was rubbing his arms; the juror nodded and smiled back.
During jury selection, jurors were asked about their occupations and the types of music they listened to. Many said they enjoyed classical music, rock and jazz, while a few mentioned they liked R&B and hip-hop.
Some jurors have jobs in finance, health care, and social services. There is also a massage therapist, a deli clerk, a dietary aide at a nursing home and a retired Verizon field technician.
Many of the jurors said during voir dire that they were aware of the charges against Mr. Combs and had seen a video of Mr. Combs assaulting his girlfriend, the singer Cassie, at an InterContinental Hotel in March 2016, which CNN aired in 2024. Still, they assured the judge that they could deliver a verdict based on the facts of the case.
'They're allegations, right?' one male juror said during questioning in May. 'I'm old enough to have heard a lot of stories before trial, and then when the evidence is actually presented, things are, you know — the truth comes out.'