By Dakin Andone, Lauren del Valle and Nicki Brown, CNN
Sean "Diddy" Combs is no longer facing the prospect of a life sentence. (File pic) Photo: Angela Weiss / AFP
The jury in the federal sex trafficking trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs returned its verdict on Wednesday (US time), clearing the hip-hop mogul of the most serious charges, though he was convicted on two lesser charges of transportation to engage in prostitution.
The verdict is, to some extent, a win for Combs, who will avoid the worst case scenario: If he had been convicted of the more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy or sex trafficking, Combs could have faced up to life in prison.
Instead, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years - though it's unlikely he'll serve a sentence that long, and he could even be sentenced to the time he's served since his arrest in September 2024.
"It's a bit of a paradox, because here we have Sean Combs, who has just been convicted of two federal felonies," said CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig. "And for all practical purposes, he has won. He has defeated the Southern District of New York."
Prosecutors accused Combs of leading a criminal enterprise made up of some of his closest employees, alleging they used threats, violence, forced labour, bribery and other crimes to force Casandra "Cassie" Ventura and another woman, "Jane," to engage in drug-fuelled sex acts with male escorts called "Freak Offs" or "hotel nights."
Combs pleaded not guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of transportation for prostitution. His lawyers argued the sex acts were consensual and merely preferences, while trying to undermine the hip-hop mogul's accusers by contending they were trying to gain a monetary benefit from Combs.
Here are takeaways from the jury's verdict.
Combs can claim some vindication
Combs and his defence team surely hoped he would be acquitted on all counts. But the verdict on Wednesday is something of a boon for a star defendant who has seen his reputation diminish in the face of repeated accusations of wrongdoing.
His acquittals on racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking are striking when looked at within the context of the defendant's fall from grace: Two years ago, Ventura filed a lawsuit claiming Combs had raped and physically and emotionally abused her. Combs agreed to settle the lawsuit a day later; his attorney said it was "in no way an admission of wrongdoing."
Ventura's lawsuit was only the beginning: More accusers came forward with allegations against Combs, and in March 2024, heavily armed federal agents searched the producer's homes in Los Angeles and Florida.
Two months later, CNN published hotel surveillance video captured eight years earlier showing Combs physically assaulting Ventura in an elevator lobby at a Los Angeles hotel - footage included as part of the prosecution's case for sex trafficking as to Ventura.
Now, while the verdict is mixed, Combs can claim some vindication on being cleared of the most serious charges.
"Regardless of what anyone thinks of Sean Combs … the simple fact is, as of right now, in the eyes of the law, he has not been convicted of a crime of violence," said CNN legal analyst Elliot Williams. "He has not been convicted of the far more serious, life-eligible crimes that he was charged with."
Prosecutors' RICO case comes up short
The verdict shows prosecutors failed to prove racketeering conspiracy and while the jury's reasoning is not known, experts told CNN prior to deliberations that prosecutors' greatest challenge would be securing a conviction on this charge.
That jurors found Combs not guilty shows they were unconvinced, either of the existence of a so-called "enterprise" - a key piece of any racketeering case - or that he and others committed the underlying crimes that would support a conviction.
The charge comes from the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act, or RICO, which was passed by Congress in 1970 to prosecute organised crime. Racketeering is not a single, specific crime, but a framework for prosecuting many different crimes; in a RICO case, these are called "predicate acts".
-CNN
