Lawyers for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs argue his conviction on prostitution-related charges is ‘unjust’ in appeal
Sean “Diddy” Combs’s attorneys have filed an appeal arguing that the music mogul’s conviction on prostitution-related charges was unjust.
Combs, 56, was found guilty on two counts of prostitution-related charges and sentenced to 50 months in prison following an eight-week trial in New York earlier this year. The court heard weeks of testimony this summer from Combs’s ex-girlfriends and former associates detailing alleged abuse. Several witnesses also described Combs’s drug-fueled sex marathons, referred to as “freak-offs.”
Combs — who is now serving out his sentence at a low-security New Jersey prison — was also acquitted of more serious sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges.
Now, Combs’s attorneys are arguing the court was “unjust” and heavily relied on “acquitted conduct.” His legal team also accused Judge Arun Subramanian of acting as a “thirteenth juror” when he sentenced Combs to more than four years in prison.
“He sits in prison today, serving a 50-month sentence, because the district judge acted as a thirteenth juror. The judge defied the jury’s verdict and found Combs ‘coerced,’ ‘exploited,’ and ‘forced’ his girlfriends to have sex and led a criminal conspiracy,” his attorneys wrote in an 84-page filing.
Combs’s legal team also noted that he was convicted of “two lesser counts—prostitution offenses that didn’t require force, fraud, or coercion.”
“Defendants typically get sentenced to less than 15 months for these offenses—even when coercion, which the jury didn’t find here, is involved,” the filing reads.
Subramanian cited the alleged abuse described by witnesses before he sentenced Combs to more than four years in prison.
“A history of good works can’t wash away the record in this case. You abused these women. You used that abuse to get your way, freak-offs and hotel nights,” Subramanian said during the October sentencing hearing.
“The evidence of the abuse is massive. The drugs may have exacerbated your erratic and violent behavior over the years. However, the court has to consider all of your history here,” he added.
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