Sean “Diddy” Combs will remain detained after a jury found him guilty Wednesday of transportation to engage in prostitution in his high-profile trial in New York City. The music mogul was acquitted of the more severe charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking.
Judge Arun Subramanian said he denied bail for Combs because he disagreed with the defense’s argument that the crimes shouldn’t trigger mandatory detention. Combs was convicted of two counts of prostitution-related charges. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Combs will get 10 months credit for time served so far, the judge said Wednesday, proposing a sentencing date of Oct. 3.
After leaving court, Combs’ attorney declined to comment on the bail denial, saying “a lot of these things are still in process.”
“We are not nearly done fighting,” defense attorney Marc Agnifilo told reporters outside U.S. district court in lower Manhattan. “Today was a major major step in the right direction, but we fight on and we’re gonna win, and we’re not gonna stop until he walks out of prison a free man to his family.”
Prosecutors previously said their preliminary calculations indicate Combs should get at least 51 to 63 months imprisonment on the two convictions, or a sentence of roughly four to five years. They told the judge Wednesday that Combs is wealthy and capable of fleeing.
Combs has also shown no remorse or regret in abusing his ex-girlfriend Jane, the prosecution said, adding that the defense’s suggestion that Combs slapping Jane while she was in the shower was in self-defense is “insulting.”
Combs was found guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution involving Jane. He was also accused of sex trafficking Jane by force, fraud or coercion, a charge the jury found him not guilty of.
Jane had told the court she often participated in what she called “hotel nights,” which also involved drugs. She testified she would have sex with a male escort while Combs watched. She said she told Combs many times that she didn’t want to have sex with other men and didn’t like the “hotel nights.”
Prosecutors said Combs had drugs and supplies for another act of prostitution in the New York hotel where he stayed — and also invited Jane to come — before he was arrested.
Following the seven-week jury trial, Combs’ attorneys moved to have him released from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn where he was held during the trial. They argued that the 55-year-old had been acquitted of the most serious charges and “continued detention of Mr. Combs is inappropriate.”
“He is a man who’s in the process of working on himself. He’s been a model prisoner,” Combs’ lawyer told the judge. “I just think we should trust him” that he’s not going to flee, the defense said.
The defense said Combs should be able to return to his Miami home, emphasizing that this was his first conviction. In a filing submitted to the judge on Wednesday, Combs’ legal team said he came to New York to surrender because he was “committed to showing his innocence” and that Combs should be released pending sentencing.
The attorneys cited conditions under the Bail Reform Act that states “a defendant who has been found guilty of an offense is entitled to release pending sentencing if the Court finds by ‘clear and convincing evidence’ that he ‘is not likely to flee or pose a danger to the safety of any other person or the community if released.'”
Federal prosecutors, however, argued the Bail Reform Act dictates that Combs should remain in custody.
In their filing to the judge, prosecutors said the crimes Combs was convicted of “constitute crimes of violence and mandate detention following the defendant’s conviction.”
“As detention is mandatory following a conviction of a Mann Act offense, the Government has been unable to locate a case in which a defendant was released from custody following such a conviction,” prosecutors said.
“Sean Diddy Combs: The Verdict,” a one-hour special on the case, will air on CBS News 24/7 at 9 p.m. ET the night of the jury’s decision. Download the free CBS News app to watch on your mobile or streaming device, or stream on Paramount+.
contributed to this report.
