Diddy sentenced to four years in prison over prostitution charges

Hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has been sentenced to 50 months in prison after being convicted on prostitution-related charges in New York.

Prosecutors had asked for an 11-year sentence, but Judge Arun Subramanian handed down just over four years following an emotional daylong hearing on Friday. Combs, 55, had already spent more than a year in custody at a Brooklyn detention centre, with his lawyers arguing for a lighter 14-month sentence, effectively time served, CNN reported.

Before sentencing, Combs apologised to the court, saying, “I am truly sorry. I ask your honour for mercy. I beg your honour for another chance.”

In July, a jury cleared Combs of the most serious charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering, but found him guilty on two counts of transporting people across state lines for prostitution.

During the sentencing, his former girlfriend, singer Casandra Ventura, known professionally as Cassie, submitted a powerful letter urging the court to hold Combs accountable. She described enduring years of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, including being coerced into “freak-offs”—sexual marathons with hired men orchestrated and sometimes filmed by Combs.

“The entire courtroom watched actual footage of Combs kicking and beating me as I tried to run away from a freak-off in 2016,” Ventura wrote, adding that she still suffers nightmares and flashbacks “on a regular, everyday basis.”

Prosecutor Christy Slavik argued that Combs had failed to take responsibility for his actions. “His remorse was qualified. It’s as though he thinks the law doesn’t apply to him,” she said, noting that he had even booked speaking engagements in Miami before sentencing, calling it “the height of hubris.”

Defence attorney Nicole Westmoreland described Combs as “an inspiration” to the Black community and a social justice advocate. “He’s not larger than life. He’s just a human being who has made mistakes,” she said, arguing that imprisonment would benefit no one.

Combs’s six adult children also appealed for leniency. His eldest, Quincy Brown, described him as “a changed man,” while his daughter, D’Lila, pleaded with the judge: “Please, please give our family the chance to heal together. Not as headlines but as human beings.”

Despite the appeals, Judge Subramanian imposed the four-year sentence, marking a dramatic fall from grace for the once-celebrated music executive.