Prosecutors say Sean ‘Diddy' Combs' request for acquittal or new trial should be swiftly rejected
Prosecutors said in papers filed shortly before midnight Wednesday that Combs masterminded elaborate sexual events for two ex-girlfriends between 2008 and last year that involved hiring male sex workers who sometimes were required to cross multiple state lines to participate.
A jury in July exonerated the Bad Boy Records founder of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges that carried the potential penalty of a mandatory 15 years in prison up to life behind bars. But it convicted him of two lesser Mann Act charges that prohibit interstate commerce related to prostitution.
The Mann Act charges each carry a potential penalty of 10 years behind bars. Combs has been denied bail despite his lawyers' arguments that their client should face little to no additional jail time for the convictions. Prosecutors said he must serve multiple years behind bars.
Combs has been in a federal jail in Brooklyn since his September arrest at a Manhattan hotel. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 3.
Prosecutors wrote that Combs' attorneys were mistaken when they contended in a submission to the judge late last month that the Mann Act was unduly vague and violates his due process and First Amendment rights.
'Evidence of the defendant's guilt on the Mann Act counts was overwhelming,' prosecutors wrote.
They noted that the multiday, drug-fueled sexual marathons that Combs demanded of his girlfriends involved hiring male sex workers and facilitating their travel across multiple states for what became known as 'freak-offs' or 'hotel nights.'
Prosecutors said he then used video recordings he made of the sexual events to threaten and coerce the girlfriends to continue participating in the sometimes weekly or monthly sexual meetings.
'At trial, there was ample evidence to support the jury's convictions,' prosecutors said.
They said Combs 'masterminded every aspect' of the sexual meetups, paying escorts to travel across the country to participate and directing the sexual activity that took place between the men and his girlfriends 'for his own sexual gratification' while sometimes joining in.
Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura, an R&B artist who dated Combs from 2008 through 2018, testified during the trial that Combs sometimes demanded the sexual meetups with male escorts every week, often leaving her too exhausted to work on her music career. She said she participated in hundreds of 'freak-offs.'
A woman who testified under the pseudonym 'Jane' said she participated in 'hotel nights' when she dated Combs from 2021 to last September and that the events sometimes lasted multiple days and required her to have sex with male sex workers, even when she was not well.
Both women testified that Combs had threatened to release videos he made of the encounters as a way of controlling their behavior.
'During these relationships, he asserted substantial control over Ventura and Jane's lives. Specifically, he controlled and threatened Ventura's career, controlled her appearance, and paid for most of her living expenses, taking away physical items when she did not do what he wanted,' prosecutors wrote.
'The defendant similarly paid Jane's $10,000 rent and threatened her that he would stop paying her rent if she did not comply with his demands,' they said.
In their submission requesting acquittal or a new trial, Combs' lawyers argued that none of the elements normally used for Mann Act convictions, including profiting from sex work or coercion, existed.
'It is undisputed that he had no commercial motive and that all involved were adults,' the lawyers said. 'The men chose to travel and engage in the activity voluntarily. The verdict confirms the women were not vulnerable or exploited or trafficked or sexually assaulted.'
The lawyers said that Combs, 'at most, paid to engage in voyeurism as part of a 'swingers' lifestyle' and argued that 'does not constitute 'prostitution' under a properly limited definition of the statutory term.'
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13 minutes ago
Sean Combs doesn't deserve a new trial, prosecutors argue
Sean "Diddy" Combs doesn't deserve a new trial because 'there was more than a sufficient basis' to support his conviction on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, federal prosecutors argued in a new court filing overnight, submitted in response to a July 31 defense motion requesting acquittal or a new trial. Attorneys for Combs, who was found not guilty on July 2 of more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking, asked the judge four weeks later to acquit him of the prostitution-related counts or grant him a new trial, arguing in part that the Mann Act – the law under which Combs was convicted – was too broadly interpreted to apply to him, that the evidence used to support his conviction was lacking, and that "spillover prejudice" from evidence introduced to support the charges on which Combs was acquitted – evidence the defense argued "would have been inadmissible" if Combs had been tried only under the Mann Act – was "inflammatory." The Mann Act is a federal law that makes it a criminal offense to "knowingly [transport] any individual, male or female, in interstate or foreign commerce or in any territory or possession of the United States for the purpose of prostitution or sexual activity which is a criminal offense under the federal or state statute or local ordinance." Combs doesn't dispute hiring male escorts but his attorneys argued in their July motion that the Mann Act doesn't prohibit Combs' conduct "because he lacked a commercial motive and did not intend for paid escorts to have sex with him," but rather to watch and video record them them having sex with girlfriends in sexual encounters referred to in trial testimony as so-called "freak-offs," which his attorneys contended is "protected First Amendment activity." Prosecutors argued in their 58-page response that the law doesn't distinguish between voyeurism and profit. 'He transported escorts across state lines to engage in Freak Offs for pay. He directed the sexual activity of escorts and victims throughout Freak Offs for his own sexual gratification. And he personally engaged in sexual activity during Freak Offs,' prosecutors said of Combs in their filing. 'There was more than a sufficient basis, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Government, to support the counts of conviction.' The "freak-offs," as former Combs girlfriend Cassie Ventura testified they were called and which another former Combs girlfriend testifying under the pseudonym "Jane" referred to as "hotel nights," took place at different residences or in hotels in New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Ibiza, and Turks and Caicos, according to trial testimony. 'Escorts traveled to these Freak Offs with Ventura and hotel nights with Jane. The defendant discussed the escorts' travel with Ventura and Jane,' prosecutors said in their filing, further noting that "the travel arrangements were generally made at the defendant's direction" including by using a travel agent, having an escort service coordinate it, or by having Ventura and "Jane" handle arrangements.
Chicago Tribune
3 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Prosecutors say Sean ‘Diddy' Combs' request for acquittal or new trial should be swiftly rejected
NEW YORK — Federal prosecutors are urging a federal judge to quickly reject Sean 'Diddy' Combs ' request that he throw out a jury verdict or order a new trial after a jury convicted the music maven of two prostitution-related charges. Prosecutors said in papers filed shortly before midnight Wednesday that Combs masterminded elaborate sexual events for two ex-girlfriends between 2008 and last year that involved hiring male sex workers who sometimes were required to cross multiple state lines to participate. A jury in July exonerated the Bad Boy Records founder of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges that carried the potential penalty of a mandatory 15 years in prison up to life behind bars. But it convicted him of two lesser Mann Act charges that prohibit interstate commerce related to prostitution. The Mann Act charges each carry a potential penalty of 10 years behind bars. Combs has been denied bail despite his lawyers' arguments that their client should face little to no additional jail time for the convictions. Prosecutors said he must serve multiple years behind bars. Combs has been in a federal jail in Brooklyn since his September arrest at a Manhattan hotel. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 3. Prosecutors wrote that Combs' attorneys were mistaken when they contended in a submission to the judge late last month that the Mann Act was unduly vague and violates his due process and First Amendment rights. 'Evidence of the defendant's guilt on the Mann Act counts was overwhelming,' prosecutors wrote. They noted that the multiday, drug-fueled sexual marathons that Combs demanded of his girlfriends involved hiring male sex workers and facilitating their travel across multiple states for what became known as 'freak-offs' or 'hotel nights.' Prosecutors said he then used video recordings he made of the sexual events to threaten and coerce the girlfriends to continue participating in the sometimes weekly or monthly sexual meetings. 'At trial, there was ample evidence to support the jury's convictions,' prosecutors said. They said Combs 'masterminded every aspect' of the sexual meetups, paying escorts to travel across the country to participate and directing the sexual activity that took place between the men and his girlfriends 'for his own sexual gratification' while sometimes joining in. Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura, an R&B artist who dated Combs from 2008 through 2018, testified during the trial that Combs sometimes demanded the sexual meetups with male escorts every week, often leaving her too exhausted to work on her music career. She said she participated in hundreds of 'freak-offs.' A woman who testified under the pseudonym 'Jane' said she participated in 'hotel nights' when she dated Combs from 2021 to last September and that the events sometimes lasted multiple days and required her to have sex with male sex workers, even when she was not well. Both women testified that Combs had threatened to release videos he made of the encounters as a way of controlling their behavior. 'During these relationships, he asserted substantial control over Ventura and Jane's lives. Specifically, he controlled and threatened Ventura's career, controlled her appearance, and paid for most of her living expenses, taking away physical items when she did not do what he wanted,' prosecutors wrote. 'The defendant similarly paid Jane's $10,000 rent and threatened her that he would stop paying her rent if she did not comply with his demands,' they said. In their submission requesting acquittal or a new trial, Combs' lawyers argued that none of the elements normally used for Mann Act convictions, including profiting from sex work or coercion, existed. 'It is undisputed that he had no commercial motive and that all involved were adults,' the lawyers said. 'The men chose to travel and engage in the activity voluntarily. The verdict confirms the women were not vulnerable or exploited or trafficked or sexually assaulted.' The lawyers said that Combs, 'at most, paid to engage in voyeurism as part of a 'swingers' lifestyle' and argued that 'does not constitute 'prostitution' under a properly limited definition of the statutory term.'
4 hours ago
Prosecutors say Sean 'Diddy' Combs' request for acquittal or new trial should be swiftly rejected
NEW YORK -- Federal prosecutors are urging a federal judge to quickly reject Sean 'Diddy' Combs ' request that he throw out a jury verdict or order a new trial after a jury convicted the music maven of two prostitution-related charges. Prosecutors said in papers filed shortly before midnight Wednesday that Combs masterminded elaborate sexual events for two ex-girlfriends between 2008 and last year that involved hiring male sex workers who sometimes were required to cross multiple state lines to participate. A jury in July exonerated the Bad Boy Records founder of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges that carried the potential penalty of a mandatory 15 years in prison up to life behind bars. But it convicted him of two lesser Mann Act charges that prohibit interstate commerce related to prostitution. The Mann Act charges each carry a potential penalty of 10 years behind bars. Combs has been denied bail despite his lawyers' arguments that their client should face little to no additional jail time for the convictions. Prosecutors said he must serve multiple years behind bars. Combs has been in a federal jail in Brooklyn since his September arrest at a Manhattan hotel. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 3. Prosecutors wrote that Combs' attorneys were mistaken when they contended in a submission to the judge late last month that the Mann Act was unduly vague and violates his due process and First Amendment rights. 'Evidence of the defendant's guilt on the Mann Act counts was overwhelming,' prosecutors wrote. They noted that the multiday, drug-fueled sexual marathons that Combs demanded of his girlfriends involved hiring male sex workers and facilitating their travel across multiple states for what became known as 'freak-offs' or 'hotel nights.' Prosecutors said he then used video recordings he made of the sexual events to threaten and coerce the girlfriends to continue participating in the sometimes weekly or monthly sexual meetings. 'At trial, there was ample evidence to support the jury's convictions,' prosecutors said. They said Combs 'masterminded every aspect' of the sexual meetups, paying escorts to travel across the country to participate and directing the sexual activity that took place between the men and his girlfriends 'for his own sexual gratification' while sometimes joining in. Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura, an R&B artist who dated Combs from 2008 through 2018, testified during the trial that Combs sometimes demanded the sexual meetups with male escorts every week, often leaving her too exhausted to work on her music career. She said she participated in hundreds of 'freak-offs.' A woman who testified under the pseudonym 'Jane' said she participated in 'hotel nights' when she dated Combs from 2021 to last September and that the events sometimes lasted multiple days and required her to have sex with male sex workers, even when she was not well. Both women testified that Combs had threatened to release videos he made of the encounters as a way of controlling their behavior. 'During these relationships, he asserted substantial control over Ventura and Jane's lives. Specifically, he controlled and threatened Ventura's career, controlled her appearance, and paid for most of her living expenses, taking away physical items when she did not do what he wanted,' prosecutors wrote. 'The defendant similarly paid Jane's $10,000 rent and threatened her that he would stop paying her rent if she did not comply with his demands,' they said. In their submission requesting acquittal or a new trial, Combs' lawyers argued that none of the elements normally used for Mann Act convictions, including profiting from sex work or coercion, existed. 'It is undisputed that he had no commercial motive and that all involved were adults,' the lawyers said. 'The men chose to travel and engage in the activity voluntarily. The verdict confirms the women were not vulnerable or exploited or trafficked or sexually assaulted.' The lawyers said that Combs, 'at most, paid to engage in voyeurism as part of a 'swingers' lifestyle' and argued that 'does not constitute 'prostitution' under a properly limited definition of the statutory term.'
