Sean “Diddy” Combs sentenced for two of the five charges in terms of sexual abuse | Short news

In the United States, a jury found that the musician Sean “Diddy” is guilty of offenses related to prostitution, but erased him from more serious accusations after a federal criminal trial.

Combs, famous personalities of hip hop music, was sentenced to transport on Wednesday to engage in prostitution but acquitted of racketeering and two chiefs of sex trafficking.

The verdict culminates seven weeks of trial in which two of the former girlfriends of the musical magnate – the singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and a second woman called “Jane” – testified that the Combtes abused them physically and sexually.

The jury’s decision also represents a partial victory for the former billionaire known to raise hip hop in American culture, through his work with artists like Notorious Big and Usher.

After the jury read his verdict, the defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo asked the judge of the American district Arun Subramanian to liberate comb bail.

“This is his first conviction and it is an offense to prostitution, and he should therefore be released in appropriate conditions,” said Agnifilo. SUBRAMANIAN will determine the combination of combits on a later date.

Acquitments on the number of sexual traffic mean that it will avoid a compulsory minimum sentence of 15 years. He could have faced life prison if he was found guilty of sex trafficking or racketeering conspiracy.

Prosecutors claim that, for two decades, Combs used its commercial empire to force its romantic partners to participate in sexual performance against drugs with male workers in hotel rooms. These performances were sometimes called “freak-offs”.

During the combat houses raids, the authorities found drugs and 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant that he would use in performance, prosecutors said.

Combs, 55, had pleaded not guilty to the five charges. His lawyers recognized that the founder of Bad Boy Records, formerly famous for organizing sumptuous parties, was sometimes violent in his domestic relationships.

But they argued that sexual activity described by prosecutors was consensual.

The musician has already faced a number of civil proceedings accusing him of abuse. Ventura, for example, continued her bands in November 2023 for sexual traffic.

Combs, also known throughout his career under the name of Puff Daddy and P Diddy, settled with Ventura for $ 20 million. He denied all of the reprehensible acts.

During the trial, the jurors saw 2016 surveillance images showing kicks and dragging Ventura in the corridor of an intercontinental hotel in Los Angeles, where she said she was trying to leave a “freak-off”.

Jane then testified that Combs, in June 2024, attacked him and ordered him to have oral sex on a male artist, even if she told him that she did not want. This alleged attack took place a month after Combs apologized on social networks for its 2016 attack on Ventura, whose images had been broadcast on CNN.

“The accused used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted,” said prosecutor Christy Slavik in his closing argument on June 26. “He doesn’t take no for an answer.”

Combs’ defense lawyers argued that, although he may have committed domestic violence in the context of volatile romantic partnerships, his conduct did not constitute sexual trafficking.

His defense team said Ventura and Jane were strong and independent women who voluntarily participated in sexual performance because they wanted to please the combs.

They also suggested that Ventura and Jane retrospectively accused the comb of forcing their participation in performance because they were jealous, he saw other women.

The two women testified that they had spent time with combs and participated in sexual performance after beating.

“If he was charged with domestic violence, we would not all be here,” said defense lawyer Agnifilo in his closure on June 27. “He did not do the things he was accused of.”

Ventura’s lawyer Doug Wigdor, on the other hand, praised her client’s courage to express himself, saying that she “opened the way” for the conviction of Combs.

“By presenting his experience, Cassie has left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and in the fight for justice,” Wigdor said in a statement.

In addition, the American lawyer’s office for the South New York district has published remarks highlighting the lasting impact of sexual violence.

“Sexual crimes are deeply scars and worrying reality is that sexual crimes are too present in many aspects of our society,” the statement said. “New Yorkers and all the Americans want this scourge to stop and that the authors have brought to justice.”