Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs returns to court seeking acquittal or fresh trial

Sean “Diddy” Combs was back before a federal court in New York on Thursday, pressing his case for the overturning of his prostitution convictions or, alternatively, a new trial.

Presiding Judge Arun Subramanian postponed a ruling, choosing to adjourn without immediate decision on the defence’s motion.

The 55-year-old music mogul has remained in custody since September last year, when he was arrested on allegations of running a large sex-trafficking network. In July, he was found guilty on two counts of prostitution.

Combs’ attorneys maintain that the convictions stem from an improper application of the Mann Act, the federal statute designed to combat sex trafficking and exploitation of women.

Sentencing is scheduled for 3 October. 

Each conviction carries a potential maximum of 10 years, but his lawyers have urged the court to impose a far lighter term no more than 14 months. Having already spent a year in federal detention, they argue he would have effectively served most of that sentence. Prosecutors, on the other hand, are demanding several years behind bars.

His legal team further insists that the charges were wrongly framed under the Mann Act. They described the case as “unprecedented,” reasoning that prostitution involves a person paying for sex, not simply observing as Combs is alleged to have done during what were called “freak-offs.”

At Thursday’s session, defence lawyer Alexandra Shapiro depicted her client as a voyeur who liked producing and watching amateur pornography, according to CBS News, the BBC’s U.S. partner.

The judge repeatedly pressed the defence on how that argument related to the Mann Act’s provisions concerning transporting individuals for prostitution. 

Counsel replied that Combs had “no commercial motive” and accused prosecutors of having “lost all perspective” in pushing for an enhancement that they said was “wildly out of proportion.”

In a filing, his attorneys argued he has already suffered extensively, declaring that his reputation has been dismantled. 

"Mr Combs's celebrity status in the realms of music, fashion, spirits, media, and finance has been shattered and Mr Combs's legacy has been destroyed," his lawyers said, adding that his seven children "desperately await his return to their lives".

The Bad Boy Records founder acknowledged supporters with a wave as he entered the courtroom.

His lawyers cautioned that if the request for acquittal is denied, a retrial is essential due to what they described as “severe spillover prejudice from reams of inflammatory evidence.”

In July, the jury cleared Combs of the more serious racketeering conspiracy and sex-trafficking charges tied to his former partner Casandra Ventura and another woman referred to as “Jane.” However, he was convicted of the lesser offences of facilitating interstate travel for prostitution.

During the trial, prosecutors alleged he coordinated paid encounters between male sex workers and his girlfriends. Some witnesses testified that Combs assaulted them physically, recounting incidents of being beaten, kicked, and choked.

He pleaded not guilty to all charges filed against him. The court has already rejected two earlier attempts by Combs’ legal team to secure bail for the Grammy-winning producer.