Prosecutors urged a federal judge on Friday to sentence music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs to more than a decade in prison for his conviction on two prostitution-related counts, arguing the 55-year-old has shown a profound lack of remorse.
Prosecutor Christy Slavik told the New York court that Diddy’s qualified apology suggested he believes “the law doesn’t apply to him,” and insisted his respect for the law was “just lip service.” The prosecution is pushing for an 11-year prison sentence.
Slavik emphasized Diddy’s alleged arrogance, noting that he had booked speaking engagements in Miami for the following week in anticipation of a light sentence—a move she called “the height of hubris.”
Federal Judge Arun Subramanian, who has the latitude to impose a sentence higher or lower than the guidelines, noted that advisory guidelines suggested a prison term of between six and seven years. The judge, too, pointed to an apparent lack of remorse, noting Combs has “challenged his factual guilt full-throatedly.”
Combs’s lawyers, meanwhile, have requested a 14-month sentence, which would effectively amount to time served, as he has already been incarcerated in Brooklyn for over a year.
Combs Pleads for Mercy
Diddy addressed the court and submitted a letter on Thursday pleading for mercy. He expressed fear of being away from his family, vowing he “will never commit a crime again.”
“I lost my way,” Combs wrote. “I got lost in my drugs and the excess… I have been humbled and broken to my core.”
His mother and six of his children were present in court and have submitted supporting letters to the judge.
Ventura Details Trauma in Letter
In contrast, Combs’s former girlfriend, singer Casandra Ventura (Cassie), submitted her own powerful letter, asking the judge to consider “the many lives that Sean Combs has upended with his abuse and control.”
Ventura, who testified while heavily pregnant, recounted suffering physical, emotional, and sexual abuse during their decade-long relationship. She detailed being coerced into “freak-offs”—sexual marathons with hired men that Combs directed and sometimes filmed.
Ventura reminded the judge and court of the graphic evidence presented:
“The entire courtroom watched actual footage of Combs kicking and beating me as I tried to run away… seeing my body thrown to the ground, my hands over my head, curled into a fetal position to shield me from the worst blows.”
She also revealed that she and her family have left the New York area due to fear of “retribution” from Combs if he is released.
Following two months of intense testimony, jurors in July acquitted Combs of the most serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, sparing him a potential life sentence.
The conviction on the lesser counts stems from a federal statute that criminalizes transporting individuals across state lines for prostitution, a ruling the defense accepts while maintaining that the underlying sexual activity was consensual and arguing that the violence did not meet the legal threshold for the grave charges.
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