NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyers for hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs filed a motion with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan on Tuesday, seeking his immediate release from prison and the reversal of his conviction on charges related to prostitution. Alternatively, they requested that the appeals court direct the trial judge to reduce Combs' four-year sentence.
Combs, aged 56, is currently incarcerated at a federal prison in New Jersey, with a scheduled release date in May 2028. Earlier this year, he was acquitted of serious charges including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking at a trial that concluded in July. However, he was convicted under the Mann Act, which prohibits the transportation of individuals across state lines for sexual crimes.
In their legal filing, Combs' lawyers argued that Judge Arun Subramanian showed bias during sentencing by allowing evidence related to charges from which Combs was acquitted to unjustly affect the severity of his punishment. They highlighted that Combs was only convicted of two lesser prostitution-related offenses that did not involve force, fraud, or coercion.
The legal team pointed out that individuals typically receive significantly shorter sentences—often less than 15 months—for similar offenses, particularly when coercion is involved, as the jury did not find in this case. They contended that Judge Subramanian acted as a "thirteenth juror" during sentencing, undermining the jury's verdict while asserting that Combs had coerced and exploited his girlfriends into sexual acts.
Judge Subramanian previously indicated that the testimony of two former girlfriends, who claimed to have been battered and coerced into engaging in sexual activities with male sex workers while Combs observed, was a substantial factor in determining the sentence. The judge described these acts as abusive and manipulative, stating that Combs had used his power and control over the women he professed to love to fulfill his desires.
During the trial, former girlfriend Casandra "Cassie" Ventura testified that Combs compelled her to engage in sexual acts with strangers over numerous instances during their decade-long relationship that ended in 2018. Jurors were shown video evidence of Combs allegedly dragging and beating her in a hotel hallway after such encounters. Another former girlfriend, referred to as Jane in the proceedings, recounted experiences of being pressured into sex during what Combs termed "hotel nights," which involved drug-fueled sexual gatherings from 2021 to 2024.
At the October sentencing, Judge Subramanian rejected the defense's characterization of the incidents as consensual or merely as a lifestyle associated with sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll. He characterized Combs' behavior as abusive, stating that it caused significant physical, emotional, and psychological harm to the women involved, and underscored how this abuse was instrumental in achieving Combs' objectives regarding these encounters.
As the appeal process unfolds, the legal team's effort to contest the conviction and sentence could have significant implications for Combs' future and the perceptions of justice in cases involving sexual misconduct and exploitation.
