Sean “Diddy” Combs was denied bail on Wednesday after he was acquitted of the most serious charges in his seven-week criminal trial.
In his ruling, Judge Arun Subramanian cited Combs’ defense team’s own acknowledgment of his violence toward former girlfriends during the trial.
“At trial, the defense conceded defendant’s violence in personal relationships saying ‘it happened’ in relation to Cassie Ventura and Jane,” said Subramanian, according to CNN.
Subramanian also said there was violence and illegal conduct after the raids on Combs’ homes, at which time he was aware he was under federal investigation.
“This highlights a disregard for the rule of law and a propensity of violence,” the judge added.
On Day 3 of deliberations, a Manhattan jury found Combs not guilty on one count of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion. He was still convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution in relation to his ex-partners, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and “Jane,” both of whom served as star witnesses for federal prosecutors in the case.
Combs faces up to 20 years in prison upon sentencing on Oct. 3.
Before his trial, Combs’ attorneys filed multiple bail requests. A federal judge denied them, citing Combs’ calls and texts to witnesses as evidence that there would be a “serious risk of witness tampering,” ABC News reported. The judge also noted Combs’ violation of jailhouse rules, like using other inmates’ phone access codes.
After the verdict was announced, Combs’ defense team requested that the music producer be released on $1 million bail as he awaits sentencing, according to CNN. In a letter to Judge Subramanian, Combs’ lawyers proposed several conditions for his release, including drug testing by pretrial services, travel that’s restricted to parts of Florida, California, New York and New Jersey, and the surrender of his passport.
“Mr. Combs has already been incarcerated for 10 months,” the letter read, per CNN. “His sentencing exposure — which we fully respect and do not seek to minimize in any way — is in fact low, and so is any corresponding risk of flight.”
Prosecutors opposed Combs’ release in a separate letter to the judge, which included a note from Deonte Nash, a friend of Ventura’s who testified to Combs’ abuse of her.
“Mr. Combs has a long, well-documented history of violent, coercive, and retaliatory behavior,” Nash wrote, citing the “danger [Combs] poses to the public and to the individuals who have risked everything by coming forward.”
“Over the years, he has repeatedly escaped meaningful accountability, and each time this has only reinforced his sense of impunity,” he continued. “If he is released now, I have no doubt he will see it as yet another license to continue intimidating, threatening, and harming people who challenge or expose him.”
Ventura’s attorney, Douglas H. Wigdor, responded to Combs’ verdict in a press statement on Wednesday that reads, “This entire criminal process started when our client Cassie Ventura had the courage to file her civil complaint in November 2023. Although the jury did not find Combs guilty of sex trafficking Cassie beyond a reasonable doubt, she paved the way for a jury to find him guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution.”
He added, “By coming forward with her experience, Cassie has left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice.”
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.