Nine months after a New York jury convicted Sean “Diddy” Combs of transporting prostitutes across state lines for drug-fueled sex parties, the hip-hop mogul is set to appear in a federal appeals court on Thursday to challenge his lengthy prison sentence.
Acquitted last year of the more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, Combs argues that the judge imposed an overly harsh sentence by considering the crimes for which the jury found him not guilty.
“He sits in prison today, serving a 50-month sentence, because the district judge acted as a thirteenth juror,” Combs’ lawyers wrote in their appeal.
Lawyers with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, who initially asked for a 11-year sentence, argue the judge was correct in taking into account the violent way Combs treated his victims when handing down his sentence.
“According to Combs, the District Court should have closed its eyes to how he carried out his … offenses and abused his victims–violently beating them, threatening them, lying to them, and plying them with drugs,” prosecutors said in their appellate brief.What was Combs found guilty of?
After a two-month trial last summer, a jury reached a split verdict against Combs, acquitting him on the more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering while finding him guilty of two lesser counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Though the jury determined that Combs did not coerce or exploit his victims — necessary elements to prove sex trafficking — they did conclude that he transported people across state lines for his “freak offs.”
Claiming legal victory, Combs’ lawyers unsuccessfully pushed for his release from prison, arguing he had already served enough time in prison while awaiting trial.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian rejected those arguments and handed down a 50-month sentence, saying Combs was able to get away with violent and abusive conduct for years.
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