Diddy Escapes Racketeering Sex Trafficking Convictions, Faces Guilty Verdict on Prostitution Charges

• Sean “Diddy” Combs was acquitted of racketeering and sex trafficking charges but was found guilty on two counts of transporting individuals for prostitution, each carrying a possible 10-year sentence.
• The jury deliberated for 13 hours over three days, ultimately deadlocking on the racketeering charge and convicting Combs on the lesser prostitution-related offences.
• Key testimony came from Casandra Ventura and another woman known as Jane, both of whom described being coerced into disturbing sexual acts during relationships with Combs, though the defence argued the encounters were consensual.

Sean “Diddy” Combs was cleared of major racketeering and sex trafficking allegations on Wednesday in a high-profile New York federal trial that spanned seven weeks. However, the jury found him guilty of two lesser offences tied to prostitution.

After spending three days reviewing evidence and deliberating for a total of 13 hours, jurors delivered guilty verdicts on two counts of transporting individuals for the purpose of prostitution. Each count could result in up to a decade behind bars.

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The 55-year-old music executive appeared visibly relieved as the decision was read aloud. He smiled, shook one of his attorney’s hands, and acknowledged the jury as they left the courtroom.

“You listened, you worked together, you were here every day, rain or shine,” said Judge Arun Subramanian, who oversaw the case. “You did so with no reward, other than the reward that comes from answering the call of public service.”

Federal prosecutors had painted Combs as the leader of a covert but well-structured criminal network, allegedly using his inner circle — including security personnel and staff — to carry out crimes ranging from forced labour and drug distribution to kidnapping, obstruction, and arson.

To convict him of racketeering, jurors needed to agree that he led a criminal organisation that committed at least two qualifying crimes. But after informing the court on Tuesday that they were unable to reach a consensus on that specific count, Judge Subramanian instructed them to continue deliberations — which ultimately ended in acquittal on the charge.

Combs remained firm in rejecting all the allegations throughout the proceedings.

The jury began deliberating on Monday following nearly three hours of instructions from the judge, who guided them through the legal framework required to assess the evidence — including voluminous documentation and explicit video content.

Two women, including singer Casandra Ventura and another who testified under the alias “Jane,” were central to the prosecution’s sex trafficking claims. Both women described being in emotionally abusive relationships with Combs and said they were coerced into participating in disturbing sexual encounters with third parties — events they referred to as “sexual marathons.”

While Combs’s defence admitted there had been incidents of domestic abuse, they argued all sexual interactions were consensual. A key piece of evidence — footage showing Combs physically assaulting Ventura — caused widespread outrage after circulating online. However, his lawyers maintained the clip did not amount to sex trafficking under federal law.

During closing arguments, the prosecution criticised Combs’s actions and his legal strategy.

“In his mind, he was untouchable,” said prosecutor Maurene Comey. “The defendant never thought that the women he abused would have the courage to speak out loud what he had done to them.”

Justice Taiwo Olatokun of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja has dismissed the case brought by Mr. Joseph Aloba, father of the late singer Ilerioluwa Aloba, also known as Mohbad.

The suit sought to overturn the legal opinion given by the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), which cleared Naira Marley, Sam Larry, and other music artists of any involvement in Mohbad’s death.

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