Diddy Found Guilty of Transportation to Engage in Prostitution, Not Guilty on All Other Counts

If convicted on all charges, Combs was facing a possible mandatory 15-year prison sentence, with the possibility of life behind bars.

After reaching a unanimous decision on only four counts on Tuesday, the jury was told to return on Wednesday and continue deliberating. It didn’t take long for them to come to a consensus Wednesday morning.

After deliberation, the jury has found Combs not guilty on racketeering conspiracy and both sex trafficking charges. On the counts of the transportation for prostitution, Combs was found guilty.

Combs’ lead lawyer, Marc Agnifilo immediately asked that his client be released after the verdict until sentencing, suggesting a $1 million bond, which would allow him to walk out of the courtroom today. Combs has been incarcerated since his September 2024 arrest.

The prosecution countered that he should remain in custody until sentencing. They also indicated that the government will be seeking the 20-year maximum sentence.

The centerpieces of the trial were former girlfriends Cassie Ventura and a woman testifying anonymously as “Jane,” with the women sharing similar stories alleging that they were coerced into sexual encounters with Combs and other men decades apart.

When asked how Combs was feeling after the mixed verdict, his son Christian told the media, “Great,” while his daughters added, “Good, happy,” per NBC News.

After the verdict, Ventura’s attorney Doug Wigdor praised her for her “exemplary courage throughout the trial,” saying in a statement that she “brought attention to the realities of powerful men in our orbit and the misconduct that has persisted for decades without repercussion.”

“This entire criminal process started when our client Cassie Ventura had the courage to file her civil complaint in November 2023,” he wrote. “Although the jury did not find Combs guilty of sex trafficking Cassie beyond a reasonable doubt, she paved the way for a jury to find him guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution.”

He said that Ventura “left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice,” arguing that this case, despite the mixed outcome, “proved that change is long overdue, and we will continue to fight on behalf of survivors.”

The attorney also told the media outside of the courthouse, “Of course, we would have liked to have seen a conviction on the sex crimes and RICO, but we understand that ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ is a high standard. We’re just pleased he still faces substantial jail time.”

On Tuesday, word came back to the court that the jury had reached a verdict on four of the five counts brought against combs. In a note to the judge, they said they had come to a unanimous decision on the counts of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prosecution, but were deadlocked on the racketeering conspiracy charge, per TMZ.

“We have jurors with unpersuadable opinions on both sides,” the jurors wrote in their message. Judge Arun Subramanian responded to the jury that they should continue deliberating in an effort to reach a final verdict on all five counts. The jury was then dismissed for the day, with the intention of heading straight back into deliberations on Wednesday.

The latest note came after the jury first reached out to the judge on Monday, about an hour after beginning deliberations, to say there were concerns that Juror 25 “cannot follow your honor’s instructions.” In this case, Subramian also urged them to follow his instructions and continue deliberations.

On Monday, June 30, Subramanian gave the 12-person jury their final instructions about how to interpret the charges he’s facing and reminded them that their decisions must be unanimous.

Count 1) Racketeering Conspiracy: The judge had instructed them that in order to find him guilty, they must agree that he and at least one other member of his alleged enterprise coordinated to commit two qualifying acts within a 10-year span. The government alleges that the enterprise engaged in these activities from 2004 through 2024.

The indictment for racketeering charges the rapper with “conspiring with co-conspirators to commit kidnapping, arson, bribery, forced labor, transportation to engage in prostitution, sex trafficking, witness tampering, and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances,” per CNN’s reporting.

Counts 2 & 4) Sex Trafficking, Cassie & Jane: The jury was instructed that this charge means they must believe the evidence and testimony proves Combs sex trafficked each woman “by force, threats of force, fraud, or coercion.”

Counts 3 & 5) Transportation to Engage in Prostitution, Cassie & Jane: This count alleges that Combs transported both Ventura and commercial sex workers across state lines from 2009-2018, and again with “Jane” and commercial sex workers from 2014-2021.

Aside from his former girlfriends, across the seven weeks of testimony, the jury also heard from 32 other witnesses, including Venura’s mother and ex-boyfriend Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi, as well as Combs’ employees, hotel staffers, and law enforcements agents involved in the hip-hop mogul’s arrests and various encounters over the years.

Prosecutors and Combs’ defense shared hundreds and thousands of text messages, phone calls, voicemails, and even video of sexual encounters involving Ventura and “Jane” alternately called “freak-offs,” “king nights,” and “hotel nights.”