- Combs acquitted of sex trafficking, convicted on lesser charges
- Defence argued relationships were consensual despite abuse
- Prosecutors said threats, financial control indicated trafficking
NEW YORK, July 3 — With their client caught on tape beating one of his former girlfriends, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ lawyers at his sex trafficking trial never sought to deny that he was physically abusive.
Instead, their trial strategy focused on convincing jurors that there was no direct link between what they called domestic violence and two of Combs’ ex-girlfriends’ decisions to take part in drug-fuelled sex marathons with paid male escorts.
Legal experts said the argument appeared to have been successful, with jurors voting on Wednesday to acquit Combs, 55, on the most serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. Combs was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, a lesser offense.
“His attorneys were smart and they owned the bad facts,” said Anna Cominsky, a professor at New York Law School. “They fought on the things that mattered and it paid off.”
The verdict spared Combs, who founded Bad Boy Records and is credited with popularising hip-hop in American culture, a potential life sentence.
He faces up to 10 years in prison on each prostitution count. Prosecutors acknowledged in a court filing that federal sentencing guidelines appeared to recommend a maximum sentence of about 5-1/4 years. Combs’ lawyers argued that two years would be the outer limit.
Still, the argument appeared to have been a double-edged sword when it came to Combs’ bid for bail.
US District Judge Arun Subramanian on Wednesday denied Combs’ request to be released from jail ahead of his sentencing later this year, citing defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo’s concession in his June 27 closing argument that Combs had committed abuse.
“Domestic violence is violence, and you said that this is a case that did involve violence,” Subramanian said in court.
The jury’s deliberations took place behind closed doors, and the reasoning of their decision is not known.
But legal experts said the defence put forth a strong case that Combs’ romantic relationships may have been combustible and at times violent, but that his conduct did not meet the definition of sex trafficking.
Defence lawyers argued that both of his former girlfriends who testified, the rhythm and blues singer Casandra Ventura and a woman known in court by the pseudonym Jane, loved Combs and consensually took part in the sexual performances to make him happy.
Lawyer Teny Geragos speaks to the media next to lawyers Marc Agnifilo outside the US federal court, following a bail hearing, after the jury reached verdicts in the Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial, in Manhattan, New York City, US, July 2, 2025. — Reuters pic
‘A different scenario’
To convict Combs of sex trafficking, prosecutors would have had to show that Combs used force, fraud or coercion to compel Ventura and Jane to take part in ecstasy-fuelled, days-long sexual performances with male sex workers sometimes known as “Freak Offs.” Both women testified that during the encounters, Combs would watch, masturbate, and occasionally film.
The case differed from recent high-profile sex trafficking convictions, including those of British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell and rhythm and blues singer R. Kelly.
Those cases involved underage victims, meaning prosecutors did not have to prove a lack of consent to secure a conviction. At Combs’ trial, prosecutors had the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that adult women, who said they loved Combs and had consensual sex with him many times, did not consent to the “Freak Offs” on certain occasions.
“This was a very different scenario than what we usually see with sex trafficking cases,” said Sarah Krissoff, a former federal prosecutor in Manhattan and current partner at law firm Cozen O’Connor. “These were messy, toxic, violent relationships with lots of drama.”
During cross-examination of the government’s witnesses, the defence brought jurors’ attention to sexually explicit text messages in which the women expressed affection for Combs.
“She was always free to leave,” Agnifilo said in closing, referring to Ventura. “She chose to stay because she was in love with him.”
The Manhattan US Attorney’s office, which brought the case, said in a statement after the verdict: “Sex crimes are all too present in many aspects of our society.”
‘They didn’t want to leave’
Prosecutors pointed to testimony from both Ventura and Jane that Combs threatened to cut off financial support and release sex tapes. They showed jurors a hotel surveillance video of Combs attacking Ventura.
“No was never an option for Cassie,” prosecutor Maurene Comey told jurors in her final argument last month.
To undermine the defence argument that Ventura and Jane took part in the “Freak Offs” consensually, prosecutors called forensic psychologist Dawn Hughes as an expert witness.
She said victims sometimes form a “trauma bond” with perpetrators that can make it difficult to leave an abusive relationship.
Agnifilo urged jurors to rely on their own intuitions about relationships rather than expert testimony.
“They didn’t always like him, but they loved him,” Agnifilo said. “They didn’t want to leave him.” — Reuters
