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Sean ‘Diddy' Combs sex-crime trial: Why the music mogul was acquitted of the most serious charge
After hours of jury deliberation, Sean 'Diddy' Combs was acquitted of three counts of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy on Wednesday but found guilty of two lesser prostitution-related charges. File image/AP
It was a gruelling trial — personal, shocking details emerged about his personal life. But after 13 hours of jury deliberation, American music mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs put his head in his chair as if he were praying as he was acquitted on the most serious charges in his sex-crimes trial on Wednesday, July 2.
Diddy was found guilty on two federal counts of transporting people for prostitution, but avoided convictions on steeper charges: two counts of sex trafficking and one of racketeering.
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His acquittal led to varied reactions in the New York court — his legal team embraced one another, his children clapped and some of his supporters even drenched themselves in baby oil, a controversial item referenced throughout the sweeping federal sex-crimes case. However, the celebrations were short-lived as the judge ordered for the music mogul to stay behind bars until his sentencing.
So, what exactly happened? And what comes next for the rapper?
Who is Sean 'Diddy' Combs?
Diddy is one of America's most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades. He's also the founder of Bad Boy Records — a label with several artists. Diddy became famous the world over for hosting high-profile parties, including some where attendees were required to wear all white.
However, prosecutors say he also held sex parties, called 'freak-offs', where women were forced into humiliating and abusive situations. Accusations from two of his former partners — singer Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura and a woman identified in court documents by the pseudonym Jane — were at the heart of Wednesday's criminal case.
In this courtroom sketch, Sean 'Diddy' Combs reacts after he was convicted of prostitution-related offenses but acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have put him behind bars for life in Manhattan federal court in New York. AP
The prosecutors argued in court that the music mogul coerced women into abusive sex parties, which saw the use of hired male sex workers, and plied them with drugs like cocaine and threats to their careers. Moreover, he silenced his victims with blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical abuse.
'He's the leader of a criminal enterprise. He doesn't take no for an answer,' Assistant US Attorney Christy Slavik said in her closing arguments.
Meanwhile, Diddy's legal team has insisted that the sexual acts were all consensual and that the music mogul was the victim of overzealous prosecutors.
What has Diddy been found guilty of?
In the trial, Diddy was charged in five matters — a racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
And on Wednesday, Diddy was found guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution relating to Ventura and the other woman known as 'Jane'. In simple terms, he was found guilty of transporting the two women to places where they would participate in sex acts and prostitution.
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However, the jury found him not guilty on the racketeering and sex trafficking charges, the most serious of the charges in the matter.
Hours after the verdict, lead defence attorney Marc Agnifilo told the media outside the courtroom, 'Mr. Combs has been given his life backy this jury.
'Today is a great victory. It's a great victory for Sean Combs. It's a great victory for the jury system,' he said. 'You saw that the Southern District of New York prosecutors came at him with all that they had. They're not stopping. But one thing stands between all of us and a prison, and that is a jury of 12 citizens.'
'They got the situation right,' Agnifilo said. 'Or certainly, right enough.'
Janice Combs, mother of Sean 'Diddy' Combs, walks outside the US federal court, after the jury reached verdicts in the Sean 'Diddy' Combs sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial, in Manhattan, New York City. Reuters
Why was Diddy acquitted of racketeering and sex trafficking?
One of the most serious charges Diddy faced was racketeering — prosecutors alleged that Combs led a criminal enterprise, which worked to cover up a range of his crimes, including sex trafficking, forced labour, drug distribution, bribery and obstruction of justice.
Also, known as Rico (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act), the law was meant to take on the mob in the US, but has been used in other trials too.
Many legal experts note that Rico cases are difficult. 'Rico is a very rigid and difficult law to satisfy,' Mitchell Epner, a former assistant US Attorney in New Jersey who worked on numerous sex trafficking and involuntary servitude cases, told Los Angeles Times. 'It requires an ongoing criminal structure, a continuity of members of a criminal organisation. It is on purpose difficult for prosecutors to prove, and the defence did a very good job of pointing out the shortcomings of a Rico prosecution on a technical level. '
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Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and legal commentator, also noted that he wasn't particularly surprised that the jury acquitted Diddy on the sex trafficking charges. 'It was a weak case,' says Rahmani. 'The jury thought it was all consensual. That was absolutely clear from the beginning that they didn't believe the [alleged] victims were forced or coerced to participate in the acts. It was all volunteer.'
Misty Marris, a defence attorney and legal analyst also explained that the prosecutors failed to provide a robust explanation of how Combs' alleged criminal enterprise worked. 'They never established what the criminal enterprise was, its purpose, how it operated, who was really involved in it,' Marris was quoted telling NBC News. 'That really never gelled for me, and clearly the jury agreed.'
Charlie Lucci, a supporter and family friend of Sean 'Diddy' Combs, holds a T-shirt outside the courthouse after the jury reached verdicts in the Sean 'Diddy' Combs sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial at US federal court in Manhattan, New York City, US. Reuters
What comes next for Diddy?
The transportation for purposes of prostitution carries a maximum prison term of 10 years. With guilty verdicts on two counts, Diddy could face a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Shortly after the verdict, Diddy's lawyer asked for his client to be released from federal detention until his sentencing hearing — scheduled for October 3. However, US District Judge Arun Subramanian denied this request and ordered Diddy to remain in jail until he is sentenced.
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But this doesn't mean that Diddy's legal woes are over. He faces a number of lawsuits — approximately 80 of them — on claims of sexual assault and physical violence. The music mogul has denied all of the allegations.
With inputs from agencies
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