Sean 'Diddy' Combs is denied release on bond to await sentencing

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2 days ago

Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Sean 'Diddy' Combs can't go home from jail to await sentencing on his prostitution-related conviction, a judge said Monday, denying the rap and style mogul's latest bid for bail. Combs has been behind bars since his September arrest. He faced federal charges of coercing girlfriends into having drug-fueled sex marathons with male sex workers while he watched and filmed them. He was acquitted last month of the top charges — racketeering and sex trafficking — while being convicted of two counts of a prostitution-related offence. In this courtroom sketch, Sean "Diddy" Combs reacts after he was convicted of prostitution-related offenses but acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have put him behind bars for life, Wednesday, July 2, 2025, in Manhattan federal court in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP) (AP) In denying Combs' $USD50 million bond proposal, Judge Arun Subramanian said the hip hop impresario had failed to prove that he did not pose a risk of flight or danger, adding that the record did not show an 'exceptional circumstance' that would justify his release after a conviction that otherwise requires detention. Combs' arguments 'might have traction in a case that didn't involve evidence of violence, coercion, or subjugation in connection with the acts of prostitution at issue, but the record here contains evidence of all three,' the judge wrote. Messages seeking comment were sent to prosecutors and one of Combs' lawyers. The conviction carries the potential for up to 10 years in prison. But there are complicated federal guidelines for calculating sentences in any given case, and prosecutors and Combs' lawyers disagree substantially on how the guidelines come out for his case. Cassie Ventura, left, and Sean "Diddy" Combs appear at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) The guidelines aren't mandatory, and Subramanian will have wide latitude in deciding Combs' punishment. The Bad Boy Records founder, now 55, was for decades a protean figure in pop culture. A Grammy-winning hip hop artist and entrepreneur with a flair for finding and launching big talents, he presided over a business empire that ranged from fashion to reality TV. Prosecutors claimed he used his fame, wealth and violence to force and manipulate two now-ex-girlfriends into days-long, drugged-up sexual performances he called 'freak-offs' or 'hotel nights.' His lawyers argued that the government tried to criminalise consensual, if unconventional, sexual tastes that played out in complicated relationships. The defence acknowledged that Combs had violent outbursts but said nothing he did amounted to the crimes with which he was charged. Sean "Diddy" Combs, pictured in 2017, was accused of sexual battery by a woman who claims that in September 2016 the music producer dangled her from a 17-story balcony as others were on site, including his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters/File via CNN Newsource) Since the verdict, his lawyers have repeatedly renewed their efforts to get him out on bail until his sentencing, set for October. They have argued that the acquittals undercut the rationale for holding him, and they have pointed to other people who were released before sentencing on similar convictions. Defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo suggested in a court filing that Combs was the United States' 'only person in jail for hiring adult male escorts for him and his girlfriend.' The defense's most recent proposal included the $50 million bond, plus travel restrictions, and expressed openness to adding on house arrest at his Miami home, electronic monitoring, private security guards and other requirements. Prosecutors opposed releasing Combs. They wrote that his 'extensive history of violence — and his continued attempt to minimise his recent violent conduct — demonstrates his dangerousness and that he is not amenable to supervision.' Sign up here to receive our daily newsletters and breaking news alerts, sent straight to your inbox. World
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