Hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has been found guilty of transporting individuals to engage in prostitution, following a high-profile trial in New York that has gripped both the music world and wider public.
However, the 55-year-old was cleared of the more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
The verdict follows a seven-week trial that featured harrowing testimony from several accusers, including his former long-term partner, singer and model Cassie Ventura. Combs had faced allegations ranging from sexual coercion to kidnapping, arson, and blackmail.
Jurors found that Combs used his resources to arrange and fund travel for male escorts, along with his girlfriends, for what were described in court as drug-fuelled “freak off” sex parties across the United States and the Caribbean. Though the jury concluded this constituted illegal transport for prostitution, they ruled there was insufficient evidence to support charges of organised sex trafficking or participation in a criminal enterprise.
Testimony from former employees, hotel staff, escorts, and police officers, as well as disturbing video footage shown only to the jury, painted a complex picture of Combs’s private life. Cassie and another woman, known in court as “Jane,” told jurors they were coerced into the encounters and suffered abuse throughout their relationships with the music producer.
Combs’s defence acknowledged his temper, drug use, and involvement in multiple overlapping relationships but argued that all sexual acts were consensual. His lawyers insisted that poor judgment did not equate to criminal guilt.
The guilty verdict means Combs could face up to 10 years in prison. Sentencing is expected in the coming weeks.
Once one of the most powerful figures in hip-hop, Combs built a music empire through Bad Boy Records, launching the careers of several major artists and winning three Grammy Awards. But his legacy has been severely damaged by a wave of allegations that first emerged in late 2023.
Cassie’s lawsuit in November 2023, settled within 24 hours for $20 million, was followed by damning CCTV footage released by CNN in May 2024, showing Combs physically assaulting her in a Los Angeles hotel in 2016. The incident, which he later admitted and apologised for, was used as evidence in court.
In addition to his criminal conviction, Combs still faces a string of civil lawsuits filed after his September 2024 arrest. Legal experts say the verdict could influence outcomes in those pending cases.
The once-revered artist, who received MTV’s Global Icon award less than two years ago and was given the Key to New York City, now faces the real possibility of prison and the unraveling of his decades-long career.
