A Manhattan jury on Wednesday delivered a mixed verdict in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal trial, acquitting him of the most serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking.
Jurors found Combs, 55, guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He faces up to 10 years in prison.
Ultimately, Combs was found guilty on count three, the Mann Act Transportation of his ex-girlfriend, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, and on count five, the Mann Act Transportation of his former girlfriend, Jane.
During the weeks-long trial, prosecutors accused Combs of using his wealth and fame to coerce ex-girlfriends into drug‑fueled marathons of sexual exploitation known as “freak‑offs.”
In November 2023, Ventura filed a civil lawsuit accusing Combs of rape, repeated physical abuse, and years of abuse. The lawsuit was settled within 24 hours, but it was followed by a series of additional civil complaints from other alleged victims with similar complaints.
Next, federal authorities launched a criminal investigation into the rap mogul. In March 2024, federal agents raided Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami as part of a federal sex trafficking probe.
The raids resulted in Diddy being charged with sex trafficking, transportation for prostitution, and racketeering.
The trial began in June in Manhattan federal court. The rapper pleaded not guilty to all charges.
While the rapper’s legal team painted him as a “complicated” man with an unorthodox but fully consensual sex life, prosecutors wasted no time sharing some sordid details from sexual encounters they say were coerced, as The Daily Wire previously reported.
“He called himself the king, and he expected to be treated like one,” she said as a reference to the viral hotel surveillance footage showing him physically assaulting his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura and “flinging her around like a rag doll.”
The prosecutor also went into detail about one specific incident which allegedly occurred at the rapper’s notorious “freak-off” parties. Johnson alleged that a male prostitute was instructed to urinate in Ventura’s mouth, which led to her saying she “felt like she was choking.”
A security card testified that Combs paid him a bribe to destroy the security footage of him assaulting Ventura.
Johnson said Combs was able to get away with it for so long thanks to his “inner circle and vast resources of his business empire.”
Additional civil litigation remains active, and sentencing on the federal convictions is expected later this year. Combs has not commented publicly since the verdict was released this morning.
