Federal prosecutors have urged a federal judge to swiftly reject Sean “Diddy” Combs’ request to overturn a jury verdict or order a new trial following his conviction on two prostitution-related charges.
In a court filing submitted late Wednesday, prosecutors argued that the evidence against Combs was “overwhelming,” stating that the music mogul orchestrated elaborate sexual events involving two ex-girlfriends between 2008 and 2023. According to the filing, the events involved hiring male sex workers who often crossed multiple state lines to participate in what became known as “freak-offs” or “hotel nights.”
In July, a jury acquitted the Bad Boy Records founder of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges, which carried a potential sentence of 15 years to life imprisonment. However, he was found guilty of two lesser violations of the Mann Act, which prohibits interstate travel or commerce for prostitution-related activities. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Combs, who has been held in a federal jail in Brooklyn since his September arrest at a Manhattan hotel, is scheduled to be sentenced on October 3. Despite his lawyers’ arguments that he faces little to no additional jail time, prosecutors maintain that he should serve multiple years behind bars and have opposed his bail request.
Prosecutors disputed claims by Combs’ legal team that the Mann Act is “unconstitutionally vague” and violates his First Amendment and due process rights. They emphasised that extensive testimony and physical evidence presented at trial demonstrated Combs’ active role in organising, financing, and directing the encounters for his own sexual gratification, while also recording the acts and using the footage to pressure the women into continued participation.
“Evidence of the defendant’s guilt on the Mann Act counts was overwhelming,” prosecutors wrote, adding that Combs “masterminded every aspect” of the sexual meetups, from arranging escorts’ interstate travel to instructing them and his girlfriends on the sexual activities.
During the trial, R&B singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, who dated Combs from 2008 to 2018, testified that he demanded sexual meetups with male escorts weekly, sometimes leaving her too exhausted to focus on her music career. She claimed to have participated in hundreds of “freak-offs.” Another witness, identified as “Jane,” who dated Combs from 2021 until September 2023, said she took part in “hotel nights” that lasted multiple days, adding that she was sometimes forced to engage in sex even when she was unwell.
Both women testified that Combs threatened to release videos of the encounters if they refused to comply with his demands. Prosecutors further alleged that Combs exercised significant control over their lives, finances, and careers.
“During these relationships, he asserted substantial control over Ventura and Jane’s lives,” prosecutors wrote. “He controlled Ventura’s career, appearance, and living arrangements, even taking away personal items when she resisted his demands. Similarly, he paid Jane’s $10,000 rent and threatened to stop if she refused to participate in the meetups.”
In their motion for acquittal or a new trial, Combs’ attorneys argued that his actions did not meet the legal definition of prostitution under the Mann Act, stressing that all parties were consenting adults. They claimed Combs had “no commercial motive” and maintained that the male escorts travelled voluntarily to engage in what they described as “voyeuristic encounters” tied to a “swingers’ lifestyle.”
“It is undisputed that he had no commercial motive and that all involved were adults,” the lawyers stated. “The verdict confirms the women were not vulnerable, exploited, trafficked, or sexually assaulted.”
Prosecutors, however, insist that the jury’s verdict was supported by ample evidence and that Combs’ conduct clearly violated federal law.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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