Sean ‘Diddy' Combs was convicted on prostitution transportation charges under the Mann Act. Here's what to know about the 1910 law

CNN

8 hours ago

After seven weeks of intense, emotional and sometimes graphic testimony, Sean 'Diddy' Combs was acquitted Wednesday of the most serious charges in his sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial trial. The hip-hop mogul, however, was convicted on two lesser prostitution-related charges under the federal Mann Act.
The Mann Act, enacted in 1910 and originally known as the 'White-Slave Traffic Act,' criminalizes transporting individuals across state lines for prostitution.
Its language, which legal scholars have defined as vague, has led to controversial prosecutions, including against Black champion heavyweight boxer Jack Johnson in 1913.
It was more recently used in high-profile cases, including against R&B singer R. Kelly and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime confidante of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Here's what we know:
According to the original text of the Mann Act, an individual could be convicted for transporting a woman or girl across state lines 'for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose.' But the original language around an 'immoral purpose' was considered vague – and meant the law was used to punish consensual sexual activity and common sex work, often against Black defendants. It was removed from the act by an amendment in the 80s.
The law's broad wording and subsequent Supreme Court interpretation once allowed prosecutors to bring cases against 'unlawful premarital, extramarital, and interracial couples,' according to Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute.
In 1913, an all-White jury convicted Johnson under the Mann Act for transporting a White woman – reported to be his girlfriend – across state lines.
Johnson served just under a year in prison, and the conviction derailed his career. President Donald Trump posthumously pardoned him in 2018.
The Mann Act has since been amended several times and now criminalizes transporting any person across state lines 'with intent that such individual engage in prostitution, or in any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense.'
Combs' defense argued in February the Mann Act has a racist history, claiming he was targeted for being a powerful Black man.
'What was racist in its inception has often been racist in its operation,' his attorneys said in a court filing, claiming no White person had faced a similar prosecution.
Prosecutors denied allegations of racism, arguing that most of Combs' accusers are people of color, the Associated Press reported. 'He baselessly accused the government of engaging in a racist prosecution,' one of the prosecutors told the judge at an October hearing, adding that the accusations posed a 'serious risk' for a fair trial.
The aim of the mogul's attorneys was to get the transportation to engage in prostitution charges dismissed.
In 2021, Maxwell was convicted under another provision of the Mann Act for transporting minors with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
She was also found guilty of charges including sex trafficking of a minor and three other charges relating to conspiracy.
Maxwell, who helped set up a scheme to lure young women into sexual relationships with Epstein, is currently serving a 20-year sentence.
R. Kelly, the disgraced R&B singer who is currently serving a 30-year sentence, was also convicted in 2021 of eight counts of violations of the Mann Act, after he was found guilty of using his fame to ensnare victims he sexually abused. He was also convicted on one charge of racketeering.
CNN's Dakin Andone, Lauren del Valle, and Nicki Brown contributed to this report.