Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs faces sentencing in federal prostitution case
Sean “Diddy” Combs faces sentencing Friday morning in federal court after his July conviction on two counts of transportation for prostitution. The 54-year-old music mogul has been in custody since September 2024.
In a letter submitted ahead of his sentencing, Combs told the judge he takes “full responsibility and accountability” for his actions.
Even as Combs apologized in court filings, prosecutors questioned his sincerity. According to journalist Matthew Russell Lee who was in court for the sentencing hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik told Judge Arun Subramanian that Combs already booked speaking engagements in Miami next week, describing it as “the height of hubris.”
Combs requested the court play a 15-minute video during Friday’s sentencing. The video shows him over the years playing with his kids, giving motivational speeches and helping people in the community.
Sentencing is set for 10 a.m. ET. Straight Arrow News will provide updates as they become available.
Combs ‘deeply sorry’ in letter to judge
In a four-page letter sent to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian on Thursday, obtained by ABC News, Combs wrote that he was “deeply sorry” and begged for mercy.
“I lost my way. I got lost in my journey,” Combs wrote. “Lost in the drugs and the excess. My downfall was rooted in my selfishness. I have been humbled and broken to my core.”
He also apologized to singer Cassie Ventura. He wrote: “I was dead wrong for putting my hands on the woman that I loved. I’m sorry for that and always will be. My domestic violence will always be a heavy burden that I will have to forever carry.”
In their Tuesday request for an 11-year sentence, prosecutors cited a letter from Ventura in which she described Combs as a “cruel, power-hungry, manipulative man.”
“I know that who he was to me — the manipulator, the aggressor, the abuser, the trafficker — is who he is as a human,” Ventura wrote. “He has no interest in changing or becoming better.”
How we got here
Everything started in 2023, just before the New York Adult Survivors Act expired. The law allowed survivors of sexual violence to file claims after the usual deadline. Ventura’s civil lawsuit that November sparked a wave of more than 100 sexual assault allegations. This includes multiple cases of people who were minors at the time of their assault.
A federal investigation led to Combs’ arrest on Sept. 16, 2024, and he has remained in custody since then. Authorities accused the music mogul of orchestrating encounters that involved transporting women across state lines for prostitution.
Combs’ former ex-girlfriend became a star witness as the trial began in May 2025. Just weeks away from the birth of her third child, she testified for several days about her dealings with Combs.
The court was shown surveillance video from 2016, previously released in part by CNN, that showed Combs chasing Ventura down a hotel hallway. He appeared to strike and drag her after she attempted to call an elevator.
Ventura became emotional while talking about how the abuse affected her mental health. NBC News even reported that she had become suicidal in the past.
Prosecutors push for long sentence
After an eight-week trial, Combs was acquitted on a more serious racketeering charge on July 2, which prosecutors had argued showed a broader criminal enterprise.
Earlier this week, SAN reported prosecutors had pushed for an 11-year sentence and $500,000 fine, arguing that his crimes caused serious harm.
“His crimes of conviction are serious and have warranted sentences over ten years in multiple cases for defendants who, like Sean Combs, engaged in violence and put others in fear,” prosecutors wrote in a filing.
His attorneys requested a more lenient 14-month sentence that would credit Combs for time served.
Subramanian denied Combs’ $50 million bail request while he awaited sentencing. The judge also rejected his bids for a new trial and to throw out his convictions on the two prostitution charges.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
