Sean “Diddy” Combs has been sentenced to 50 months in prison after being found guilty on two prostitution-related offences but acquitted of three sex trafficking and racketeering charges, E! News reported.
After Combs was convicted of two prostitution-related offences but acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges in his sex trafficking case, Judge Arun Subramanian sentenced the Bad Boy Records founder to 50 months in prison, which is more than four years, five years of supervised release, and a USD 500,000 fine.
At the hearing on October 3, the judge gave an explanation of the cause, stating that while the defence’s request of 14 months “would not be sufficient,” the prosecution’s suggestion of 135 months was more than what would be “necessary,” according to NBC News.
“The need for general deterrence warrants a significant sentence,” the judge said. “A substantial sentence must be given to serve as an example to abusers and victims alike,” E! News reported.
The 55-year-old has a right to appeal the sentence.
Prior to the judge’s ruling, Combs apologised in court to victims Cassie Ventura and “Jane.”
“My actions were disgusting, shameful and sick,” he said. “I was sick, sick from the drugs, I was out of control, I needed help and I didn’t get the help,” E! News reported.
Combs continued, “I lost my self-respect. I have been humbled and broken to my core. I hate myself right now, I’ve been stripped down to nothing. I am truly sorry for it all, no matter what they say.”
In a letter submitted to the judge in charge of his sentencing, Combs stated that he lost his “way” over time, noting his sobriety, according to the outlet.
“Although this situation has been the hardest and darkest time in my life, good things have come out of my incarceration,” Combs wrote in his October 2 letter, obtained by NBC News. “For starters, I am now sober for the first time in 25 years. I have been trying my best to deal with my drug abuse and anger issues and take accountability as well as positive steps towards healing.”
The letter also included an apology to Ventura, who dated Combs on and off from 2007 to 2018 and was one of the prosecution’s major witnesses.
“The scene and images of me assaulting Cassie play over and over in my head daily,” he wrote in reference to a 2016 video that surfaced last year. “I literally lost my mind. I was dead wrong for putting my hands on the woman that I loved. I’m sorry for that and always will be.”
Prior to the sentencing, Judge Subramanian, who presided over Combs’ federal trial, had denied the music mogul’s plea for an acquittal linked to his convictions on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
Previously, Combs had pleaded not guilty to all five charges in his trial–two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution as well as one count of racketeering conspiracy–and had initially faced a possible maximum sentence of life in prison, E! News reported.
