NEW YORK — Rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was sentenced on Friday to more than four years in prison after a jury found him guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution in July.
He gets credit for time served since his arrest. Combs has already spent 12 months at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Before his sentence was handed down, Combs tearfully addressed the court and apologized to victims, his children and other domestic violence survivors and begged the judge for mercy.
Federal prosecutors argued Combs deserved at least 11 years in prison, while Combs’ attorneys sought time served. Combs has been in custody since his September 2024 arrest.
(ABC News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Key Headlines
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5:47 AM +07Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sentenced to 4 years, 2 months in prison
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3:25 AM +07Sean Combs tearfully apologizes: ‘Broken to my core’
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3:01 AM +07Combs ‘has genuine psychological challenges,’ defense says
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2:43 AM +07Combs attorney argues he ‘has punished himself more than anyone would be able to punish him’
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12:53 AM +07Defense plays mitigation video as court breaks for lunch
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12:33 AM +07Combs’ kids plea for his release: ‘Please give us the chance to rebuild together’
Sean Combs’ lawyers: ‘The judge acted as a 13th juror’
Speaking outside court Friday evening, Sean Combs’ lawyers vowed to appeal today’s decision.
“What we feel happened today was that the judge acted as a 13th juror, and that he second-guessed the jury,” attorney Marc Agnifilo said.
Agnifilo said their strongest argument on appeal is that the judge used coercion as a basis for a lengthy sentence, while the jury acquitted Combs on the allegation he used force or coercion to move his victims across state lines.
“We think that’s just absolutely inconsistent with the jury’s verdict,” he said. “The jury’s verdict was resoundingly clear. There was no sex trafficking, there was no racketeering, everything was consensual, everything was adult, which is why he was convicted only of the prostitution offense.”
Attorney Brian Steel called today a “very bad day for everybody.”
“There is a human being now in custody for 50 months based upon conduct that the jury heard, the jury resolved, and the jury rejected,” he said.
They did not answer questions about Combs’ reaction to the verdict or his current mindset.
