Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was sentenced to over 4 years in prison after day-long court hearing. How we got here

By Lauren del Valle, Nicki Brown, CNN

(CNN) — A federal judge sentenced Sean “Diddy” Combs to four years and two months in prison Friday afternoon, telling the disgraced music mogul that his crimes were serious but there is “light at the end of the tunnel” for him.

Combs has been jailed in a federal detention facility in Brooklyn, New York since his arrest in September of last year, and was facing up to ten years in prison for each of the two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution he was found guilty of in July.

He was convicted of transporting two of his former girlfriends to have sex with paid male escorts at drug-fueled nights called “Freak Offs” or “hotel nights.”

Judge Arun Subramanian’s ruling Friday departed from the prosecutors’ 11-year sentencing recommendation, and the defense team’s request for a lenient 14-month sentence that would’ve secured Combs’ imminent release after time served.

The judge said he considered the fact that Combs is a self-made artist and businessman who has “inspired and lifted up communities” and called his impact on the Black community and entrepreneurship – all of which was highlighted by his defense team in court on Friday – “celebrated and iconic.”

But Subramanian also said, “A history of good works cannot wash away the record in this case, which showed that you abused the power and control you had over the women you professed to love dearly. You abused them physically, emotionally and psychologically and you used that abuse to get your way.”

The judge rejected “the defense’s attempt to characterize what happened here as merely intimate consensual experiences or just a sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll story.”

“I was sitting right here,” Subramanian said, in reference to the testimony given at trial by two of Combs’ former girlfriends, Casandra Ventura and a woman who testified under the pseudonym “Jane.”

“We read about it in text messages and emails. We saw it in the images of gashes, bruises, broken doors, and we saw the video of your savage beating of Ms. Ventura,” Judge Subramanian said. “This was subjugation, and it drove both Ms. Ventura and Jane to thoughts of ending their lives.”

Judge Subramanian thanked the victims for their courage to speak out about the abuse they endured from Combs.

”I want to say first we heard you. I am proud of you for coming to the Court to tell the world what really happened,” he said.

The judge also questioned the authenticity of Combs’ claims of reform, pointing to his assault of Jane in June 2024. The judge said Combs assaulted Jane and arranged a hotel night with her and an escort while knowing he was under active federal investigation and the surveillance video of him assaulting Ventura at a hotel in 2016 had been become public.

‘A universe of people who love you’

Subramanian addressed Combs directly, encouraging him to let his family support him through his sentence and when he is released, quoting from several positive messages in letters submitted by his family and friends to the court.

“These letters, all those letters that I saw, show that you have a universe of people who love you,” the judge said. “Let them lift you up now, just like you’ve lifted them up for so many years.”

“I’m counting on you to make the most of your second chance,” Subramanian said.

Combs begs for mercy

Combs addressed the court before Judge Subramanian imposed his sentence, pleading for a second chance.

“I ask your honor for mercy. I beg your honor for mercy,” Combs said.

He apologized to Ventura and her family, and to Jane. To Jane he said, “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m sorry that I brought you into my mess.”

Combs also apologized to abuse victims around the world who may have been triggered by the surveillance footage of him assaulting Ventura.

Regarding the video he said, “My actions were disgusting, shameful and sick. I was sick. Sick from the drugs, I was out of control. I needed help but I didn’t get the help. Because of that I can make no excuse.”

Combs said he understood the severity of his convictions and pledged, “I’ll never put my hands on another person again. I know that I’ve learned my lesson.”

“I lost all my businesses, I lost my career, I totally destroyed my reputation. But most of all, I lost my self-respect. I’ve been humbled and broken to my core. I hate myself right now. I’ve been stripped down to nothing. I really am truly sorry for it all, no matter what they say,” he said.

Combs grew emotional when he turned to apologize to his children and mother seated in the courtroom.

Emotional pleas from Combs’ children

Earlier, several of Combs’ children addressed the judge, pleading with him to give their father a lenient sentence.

“I ask you to give my father a second chance, a second chance at life, a second chance to right his wrongs, a second chance to be the man that he truly is,” Justin Combs said, calling his father his “superhero.”

“Seeing him broken down and stripped of everything is something I will never forget.”

Three of Combs’ daughters gave tearful addresses to the court.

“We know he isn’t perfect and he has made many mistakes and we aren’t here to excuse any of those mistakes. But your honor, he is still our dad, and we still need him present in our lives,” Jessie Combs said.

His daughter D’Lila Combs pleaded with the judge to release Combs to heal out of the media spotlight.

“Please, your honor, please, give our family the chance to heal together, to rebuild, to change, to move forward, not as a headline but as human beings who are trying to do better,” she said.

Judge Subramanian thanked Combs’ children for addressing the court. “I know how hard it was to stand up here and tell me those things but it’s very important for me to hear.”

The defense also played a ten-minute campaign-style video highlighting Combs’ life with his family and good works.

Combs’ defense team gave a more than three-hour presentation that dominated the court day. Judge Subramanian allowed five of Combs’ attorneys to argue for a lenient sentence on his behalf in addition to the character witness statements. A reverend from Miami also told the judge that he’d take personal responsibility for Combs’ rehabilitation when he’s released.

No victims speak in court

While the court heard several pleas from Combs’ supporters Friday, the victims who testified at trial were noticeably absent from the hearing.

Ventura, in a letter submitted ahead of the proceedings, wrote that she fears for the safety of herself and her family if Combs is released. She told the judge she is keeping “as private and quiet” as possible for fear of retribution.

Prosecutor Christy Slavik read an excerpt from Ventura’s letter about the lasting trauma she still experiences.

“I spent the last seven years of my life slowly rebuilding myself – physically getting clean from the drug abuse Sean Combs forced and encouraged, and mentally understanding how to live with a seemingly insurmountable level of trauma,” Ventura wrote. “The horrors I endured drove me to have thoughts of suicide – ones I almost followed through on, if not for my family’s intervention and urging that I seek professional care.”

Jane did not submit a letter weighing in on Combs’ sentence.

A former employee of Combs who testified at trial under the pseudonym “Mia” was slated to speak at the hearing, but on Friday morning Slavik said she’d changed her mind.

Combs’ lawyers had submitted a letter opposing Mia speaking at the hearing earlier in the week that Slavik called “bullying.”

The judge agreed and admonished the defense on the bench Friday. “The tone of the defense’s letter was inappropriate and so I agree with Ms. Slavik on that point,” he said.

Prosecutors: Combs respect for the law is ‘lip service’

Slavik spent less than an hour in total addressing Combs’ sentencing for the government, but made clear its stance that his claimed remorse is disingenuous.

“It’s clear that the defendant doesn’t understand or appreciate the gravity of his criminal conduct,” Slavik said.

Combs doesn’t “fully grapple with how his actions got him here. His respect for the law is just lip service.”

The prosecutor said Combs and his lawyers have minimized the violence tied to his conviction.

“The defendant’s abuse was consistent, casual even, but life-altering for those on the bruised end of it,” Slavik said.

“Today the court has the opportunity to send a message to the victims in this case, to all victims of abuse and exploitation, and to the public – that the defendant’s crimes are serious, that victims matters, and that people who abuse, exploit, and manipulate will be punished,” Slavik said.

Slavik knocked Combs for lining up speaking engagements for as soon as next week with the supposition that he’d be released.

“He has booked speaking engagements in Miami for next week,” Slavik said. “That is the height of hubris, your Honor.”

Combs’ lawyer Xavier Donaldson later said he’d arranged engagements for Combs to begin teaching inmates, as he’s started doing in his detention in recent months. The director of a Miami nonprofit that helps convicted citizens reenter society also said at the hearing that he hoped to work with Combs to expand his leadership and business curriculum.

It is unclear where Combs will serve his prison sentence, but Judge Subramanian said he hopes Combs will continue working with his fellow inmates.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.