Music tycoon Sean “Diddy” Combs was sentenced to more than four years in jail on Friday following his conviction on prostitution-related charges.
Prosecutors requested 11 years in prison for Combs, but Judge Arun Subramanian imposed a 50-month sentence during an emotional daylong court session.
Diddy’s ‘ lawyers had requested the judge to sentence the 55-year-old hip-hop legend to 14 months in prison, which would have essentially been time served given that he had been in custody in Brooklyn for more than a year.
Diddy addressed the court before the judge handed down the punishment, saying he was “truly sorry” for his conduct and asking for “another chance.”
“I ask your honor for mercy,” he said. “I beg your honor for mercy.”
In July, a jury acquitted Diddy Combs of the most serious allegations against him, sex trafficking and racketeering, but found him guilty of two counts of transporting persons across state borders for prostitution.
Casandra Ventura, Combs’ former lover, wrote a letter to the judge, asking him to examine “the many lives that Sean Combs has upended with his abuse and control.”
Ventura, the 39-year-old singer known as Cassie, revealed in graphic detail the physical, emotional, and sexual abuse she endured during her more than decade-long relationship with Combs.
Ventura and another woman, Jane, claimed they were compelled into executing so-called “freak offs”: sexual marathons with paid males that Combs oversaw and occasionally videotaped.
“The entire courtroom watched actual footage of Combs kicking and beating me as I tried to run away from a freak-off in 2016,” Ventura wrote.
She claims she experiences nightmares and flashbacks “on a regular, everyday basis.”
Ventura stated that she and her family had left the New York area for fear of “retribution” from Combs if he was released.
Before the sentencing, prosecutor Christy Slavik stated that Diddy had not accepted responsibility for his acts.
“His remorse was qualified. It’s as though he thinks the law doesn’t apply to him,” Slavik said.
Slavik claimed Diddy had scheduled speaking engagements in Miami for next week in anticipation of a light sentence, which she described as “the height of hubris.”
Arguing for a lesser sentence, Nicole Westmoreland, one of Combs’s lawyers, described him as an “inspiration” to the Black community and a social justice crusader.
“No, Combs is not larger than life,” she said. “He’s just a human being. He’s made mistakes.”
However, he is remorseful, and “it’s of no benefit to anyone to warehouse him in a prison.”
His six adult children each delivered an emotional plea on their father’s behalf, with the eldest, Quincy Brown, calling him “a changed man.”
“Please, please give our family the chance to heal together,” said one of his daughters, D’Lila Combs. “Not as headlines but as human beings.”
