Sean “Diddy” Combs was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering but convicted on two counts of transporting individuals for prostitution in a verdict that split a stunned Manhattan courtroom.
At a Glance
- Sean Combs was found not guilty of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking.
- He was convicted on two counts of transportation for prostitution.
- The jury deliberated for seven days following a nearly two-month trial.
- Combs remains in custody without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center.
- Over 50 civil suits remain pending against him for alleged abuse and violence.
Split Verdict Stuns Courtroom
A Manhattan jury delivered a partial conviction in the federal sex crimes trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, acquitting him on the most serious charges—racketeering and sex trafficking—while convicting him of two counts of arranging interstate travel for prostitution. The seven-week trial featured testimony from 34 government witnesses and explosive allegations involving coerced sexual activity at Combs’ private residences and properties.
Among the witnesses were singer Cassie Ventura and an anonymous woman referred to only as “Jane,” both of whom testified to disturbing incidents of drug-laced coercion, security-controlled isolation, and transactional sex. Combs’ defense dismissed the claims as either consensual or fabricated, framing the prosecution as a smear campaign built on weak corroboration.
Watch a report: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial: Jurors reach verdict on 4 of 5 counts
Prison Awaits as Civil Cases Mount
Despite escaping conviction on federal trafficking counts, the guilty verdict on prostitution charges carries a mandatory minimum sentence under federal law. Combs remains held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and is expected to face sentencing later this summer.
His legal woes are far from over. More than 50 women have filed ongoing civil lawsuits, alleging sexual assault, physical abuse, and psychological manipulation spanning two decades. Many of these lawsuits stem from incidents excluded from the criminal case due to statute limitations or jurisdictional barriers but could now gain traction with the partial conviction in hand.
The courtroom split—a conviction on lower charges, but not the headline crimes—has thrown both Combs’ legal fate and public persona into volatile territory. Whether this outcome signals vindication or prelude to broader accountability remains bitterly contested.
