Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyers acknowledged abuse in successful trial strategy
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.
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."
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."
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."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
10 hours ago
- New Straits Times
China's Qin wins 'miracle' second breaststroke gold at swim worlds
SINGAPORE: China's roaring Qin Haiyang won his second breaststroke gold of the Singapore swimming world championships on Friday, edging a 200m nailbiter. World record holder Qin touched the wall in 2min 07.41sec, ahead of Japan's Ippei Watanabe (2:07.70) and Caspar Corbeau of the Netherlands (2:07.73). The 26-year-old Qin won the 100m breaststroke earlier in the week but he celebrated his second victory as if it were his first. He punched the air before whipping up the delighted Chinese fans in the arena, who screamed him on to a thrilling victory. Qin started the race in lane eight after qualifying slowest from the semi-finals but it made no difference as he regained the world title he won in 2023 in style. "Amazing," said Qin. "Have you heard of the lane eight miracle? "I did not know if I was second or third, I just heard 'whoo', so I knew I had won." The lead changed hands several times throughout the race, with American AJ Pouch and Russian Kirill Prigoda also challenging. In the end it was Qin who got the decisive touch ahead of Watanabe, giving the Chinese swimmer his fourth medal of the championships in Singapore. Qin is returning to form after a difficult time at last year's Paris Olympics, where he did not even make the final of the 200m breaststroke. His preparations for the Games were thrown into turmoil when he was implicated in a major doping scandal months before the Games. A report named Qin among 23 Chinese swimmers who had tested positive for a prescription heart drug ahead of the pandemic-delayed 2021 Tokyo Olympics. They were not sanctioned after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accepted the argument of Chinese authorities that the positive tests were caused by contaminated food.--AFP
New Straits Times
10 hours ago
- New Straits Times
UK ninja sword ban begins as 1,000 weapons surrendered in knife crime crackdown
LONDON: At least 1,000 weapons have been surrendered under a British government amnesty launched last month to combat knife crime, the Interior Ministry announced today, as a new ban on ninja swords came into effect. Overall, knife crime in England and Wales has risen 87 per cent over the past decade, with 54,587 offences recorded last year alone, a two per cent rise from 2023 and among the highest rates in Europe. On July 29, 2024, a teenager attacked a Taylor Swift-themed children's dance event in the northern English town of Southport, killing three girls and stabbing 10 people in one of Britain's most harrowing knife assaults. Since then, the government has pledged tougher age checks for knife buyers, warned social media firms they could face fines for failing to curb sales and promotion of weapons, and banned zombie-style knives, machetes and ninja swords. Over the month of July this year, the government urged young people to drop off weapons, including bladed ones, at "amnesty" bins or a mobile van -- part of efforts to control knife crime, particularly when it involves youths. The government said at least 1,000 weapons have been handed in. A mobile van will be deployed at the Notting Hill Carnival in London later this month in response to past knife-related violence by a small number of attendees. It is unclear whether the "amnesty" bins will stay in place once the month-long campaign comes to an end. Charities and experts call the government's efforts a step forward but say they fail to address the root causes. The Interior Ministry said that knife-related robberies have fallen in seven highest-risk areas, dropping from 14 per cent of all robberies in the seven highest-risk areas in the year ending June 2024 to six per cent in the same period to June 2025. The ban on buying and selling ninja swords is part of the government's pledge to introduce Ronan's Law, named in honour of 16-year-old Ronan Kanda, who was fatally stabbed with a ninja sword in 2022. Campaigner Martin Cosser, whose son was killed in a knife attack two years ago, previously told Reuters that the issue was not just about the weapon itself, but about the "emotional drivers" that lead people to carry knives in the first place. — REUTERS
The Star
15 hours ago
- The Star
UK ninja sword ban begins as 1,000 weapons surrendered in knife crime crackdown
FILE PHOTO: Martin Cosser sits on a memorial bench with a plaque honouring Charlie, Cosser's son, who was killed in a knife attack, at Devil's Punch Bowl, in Surrey, England, July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Catarina Demony/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) -At least 1,000 weapons have been surrendered under a British government amnesty launched last month to combat knife crime, the interior ministry announced on Friday, as a new ban on ninja swords came into effect. Overall, knife crime in England and Wales has risen 87% over the past decade, with 54,587 offences recorded last year alone, a 2% rise from 2023 and among the highest rates in Europe. On July 29, 2024, teenager Axel Rudakubana attacked a Taylor Swift-themed children's dance event in the northern English town of Southport, killing three girls and stabbing 10 people in one of Britain's most harrowing knife assaults. Since then, the government has pledged tougher age checks for knife buyers, warned social media firms they could face fines for failing to curb sales and promotion of weapons, and banned zombie-style knives, machetes and ninja swords. Over the month of July this year, the government urged young people to drop off weapons, including bladed ones, at "amnesty" bins or a mobile van - part of efforts to control knife crime, particularly when it involves youths. The government said at least 1,000 weapons have been handed in. A mobile van will be deployed at the Notting Hill Carnival in London later this month in response to past knife-related violence by a small number of attendees. It is unclear whether the "amnesty" bins will stay in place once the month-long campaign comes to an end. The interior ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. Charities and experts call the government's efforts a step forward but say they fail to address the root causes. The interior ministry said that knife-related robberies have fallen in seven highest-risk areas, dropping from 14% of all robberies in the seven highest-risk areas in the year ending June 2024 to 6% in the same period to June 2025. The ban on buying and selling ninja swords is part of the government's pledge to introduce Ronan's Law, named in honour of 16-year-old Ronan Kanda, who was fatally stabbed with a ninja sword in 2022. Campaigner Martin Cosser, whose son was killed in a knife attack two years ago, previously told Reuters that the issue was not just about the weapon itself, but about the "emotional drivers" that lead people to carry knives in the first place. (Reporting by Catarina Demony; editing by Mark Heinrich)
