Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs verdict: What was he found guilty of – and what’s next?

Sean “Diddy” Combs has been found guilty on two federal counts of transporting people for prostitution.

But at the verdict reading on Wednesday, he avoided convictions on steeper charges: two counts of sex trafficking and one of racketeering.

The jury’s decision in the federal criminal case brought to an end nearly seven weeks of trial. The three acquittals mean that Combs — a musician and producer known for his work with artists like Notorious BIG — avoids 15-year mandatory minimum sentences for each of the more serious charges.

The former billionaire could have faced life in prison if he had been convicted on sex trafficking or racketeering conspiracy.

Wednesday’s verdict comes after the jury in the New York trial struggled to deliver a decision on all five charges a day earlier.

After the verdict was announced, lawyers for Combs petitioned for the music mogul to be released on bail. But Judge Arun Subramanian denied bail on the basis that Combs had admitted to being violent towards past girlfriends.

Combs, 55, pleaded not guilty to all five charges against him.

Who is Sean Combs?

Combs got his start scouting talent in the music industry — and eventually, he went on to found his own label, Bad Boy Records.

With a successful rapping career of his own and other artists under his management, Combs became one of the most powerful players in the music industry.

He was known for hosting high-profile parties, including some where attendees were required to wear all white.

But prosecutors say he also held sex parties, sometimes called “freak-offs”, where women were forced into humiliating and abusive situations.

Accusations from two of his former partners — singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and a woman identified in court documents by the pseudonym Jane — were at the heart of Wednesday’s criminal case.

Combs has also faced a slate of civil lawsuits alleging sexual abuse, including one with Ventura that resulted in a multimillion-dollar settlement.

His lawyers have maintained that his sexual activity was consensual.

What has Combs been found guilty of?

These are the charges Combs faced and the verdicts for each:

• Count 1: Racketeering conspiracy – up to life in prison. Not guilty.
• Count 2: Sex-trafficking of Ventura – a minimum of 15 years and maximum of life in prison. Not guilty.
• Count 3: Transporting individuals including but not limited to Ventura to engage in prostitution – a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Guilty.
• Count 4: Sex-trafficking of “Jane” – a minimum of 15 years and maximum of life in prison. Not guilty.
• Count 5: Transporting individuals including but not limited to “Jane” to engage in prostitution – a maximum of 10 years in prison. Guilty.

What is a partial verdict and why did it delay the overall verdict?

Wednesday’s verdict comes after the jury struggled to make a decision on all five criminal counts Combs faced.

A day earlier, on Tuesday, the jury appeared poised to deliver a partial verdict. It had decided four of the five counts — but had stalled on a fifth.

In the US criminal justice system, a partial verdict occurs when a jury reaches a unanimous decision on some but not all of the charges against a defendant.

This typically happens in cases involving multiple counts in which the jury agrees on a verdict for certain charges but remains deadlocked on others.

Partial verdicts help ensure that the judicial process is not delayed indefinitely owing to a lack of consensus on every count.

In Combs’s case, the verdicts for the first four counts that the jury decided were not released on Tuesday.

Instead, Judge Subramanian ordered the jury to continue deliberating, and decisions on all five counts were ultimately revealed on Wednesday.

Which charge against Combs was the jury initially undecided about?

The jury was unable to reach a verdict on a charge of racketeering conspiracy by Tuesday because there were “unpersuadable opinions on both sides”, it said.

Racketeering carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Subramanian instructed the jury to continue deliberating on the racketeering conspiracy count on Wednesday.

What were the other charges against Combs?

In addition to racketeering, Combs faced two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.

A conviction for sex trafficking carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Transportation to engage in prostitution, which involves arranging to fly sex workers across state lines, carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

What was some of the evidence presented in the case?

One of the highest-profile pieces of evidence was a surveillance video showing an act of violence between Ventura and Combs.

First released by the news channel CNN, the video showed a March 2016 incident where Combs approaching Ventura in the hall of an InterContinental hotel, throwing her to the ground, kicking her and finally dragging her back to a room.

Prosecutors said that, at the time of the incident, Ventura was trying to leave a “freak-off”, in which Combs would watch and masturbate to women having sex with paid male escorts.

Combs’s behaviour, prosecutors argued, amounted to sex trafficking because the escorts were paid, and Combs used force and threats to coerce Ventura into participating in the “freak-offs”. They say Combs threatened to end her financial support or release sex tapes he filmed at the parties.

On the Tuesday before the verdict, the jury asked to review Ventura’s testimony about the “freak-offs” and the 2016 hotel assault.

“Jane” also said Combs forced her into drug-fuelled sex sessions with male sex workers.

What is racketeering?

Racketeering, the charge against Combs on which the jury was undecided until Wednesday, involves a set of illegal activities in which an individual commits at least two related crimes within 10 years as part of a larger criminal enterprise.

The law is designed to target not just isolated crimes but the broader structures behind them, such as gangs or corrupt businesses.

Racketeering charges are used to dismantle criminal organisations by linking individuals to coordinated and systemic illegal conduct.

Prosecutors alleged that for more than two decades, Combs led a criminal enterprise – abetted by his associates and employees – that worked to cover up a range of crimes, including sex trafficking, forced labour, drug distribution, bribery and obstruction of justice.

To gain a conviction on the racketeering charge, prosecutors would have needed to prove that Combs established a criminal enterprise, or a coordinated plan between the musician and at least one other person.

How did Combs react to the verdict?

After the judge dismissed the jury and lawyers for both sides, Combs kneeled and appeared to pray. He then rose and addressed the courtroom gallery, saying: “I’m gonna be home soon. I love you. Thank you. I love you.”

Combs’s family and supporters erupted into applause and cheers.

The rapper chose not to testify during the trial.

What will happen to Combs now?

After the jury read the verdict, defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo asked the court to release Combs on bail. “This is his first conviction, and it’s a prostitution offence, and so he should be released on appropriate conditions,” Agnifilo said.

But Judge Subramanian denied Combs bail, meaning the music mogul will remain in detention until his sentencing.

Combs faces a maximum 10-year prison sentence on each of the two prostitution counts. Subramanian will determine Combs’s sentence at a later date.