American music mogul Sean Combs, popularly known as Diddy, has been sentenced to 50 months in prison after being convicted on prostitution-related charges.
Prosecutors had sought an 11-year term, but Judge Arun Subramanian handed down just over four years following an emotional daylong hearing on Friday.
Combs’s defence team had urged for a lighter 14-month sentence, citing time already served, as the 55-year-old hip-hop icon has spent over a year in custody in Brooklyn, CNN reported.
Before the sentencing, Combs addressed the court in a tearful plea for leniency. “I am truly sorry,” he said. “I ask your honour for mercy. I beg your honour for mercy.”
In July, a jury acquitted Combs of the more serious counts of sex trafficking and racketeering but found him guilty on two counts of transporting individuals across state lines for prostitution.
His former girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura, submitted a powerful letter to the court describing the years of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse she allegedly endured during her relationship with Combs.
Ventura wrote, “The entire courtroom watched actual footage of Combs kicking and beating me as I tried to run away from a freak-off in 2016.” She said she still suffers from “nightmares and flashbacks on a regular, everyday basis.”
Prosecutor Christy Slavik argued that Combs had not fully taken responsibility, saying, “His remorse was qualified. It’s as though he thinks the law doesn’t apply to him.”
She also noted that Combs had reportedly booked speaking engagements in Miami ahead of sentencing, describing it as “the height of hubris.”
In contrast, defence attorney Nicole Westmoreland described Combs as “an inspiration” to the Black community and a man who has made mistakes but shown remorse. “It’s of no benefit to anyone to warehouse him in a prison,” she said.
Combs’s six adult children also appealed for leniency. His eldest son, Quincy Brown, described him as “a changed man,” while his daughter, D’Lila Combs, pleaded, “Please, please give our family the chance to heal together — not as headlines, but as human beings.”