Sean “Diddy” Combs has been sentenced to 50 months, or four years and two months, in prison on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
The sentencing comes three months after Combs was convicted of flying people across state lines for drug-fuelled marathon sexual encounters.
A jury acquitted the 55-year-old of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges that could have carried a life sentence.
However, the judge said the statute he has to follow requires him to consider the nature of the offences and his history.
The judge said a lengthy sentence was needed for deterrence and that he was unconvinced that if Combs is released these crimes won’t happen again.
Prosecutors had called for an 11-year sentence for Combs, who was convicted in July.
Defence lawyers argued for him to be freed immediately after he spent more than a year in detention. They offered an atypical presentation at the sentencing hearing, reflecting Combs as a wealthy and philanthropic celebrity.
On Friday, Combs addressed the court for the first time, having not spoken during his trial.
Speaking to the court before his sentencing, Combs called his past behaviour “disgusting, shameful” and “sick”, apologising to the people he hurt including his children.
He said his acts of domestic violence were a burden he will carry for the rest of his life, and said he wanted to “personally apologise” to his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura for “any harm” he caused her.
He said he has lost his career and destroyed his reputation.
“I have been humbled and broken to my core. I hate myself right now, I’ve been stripped down to nothing.”
He said that the prosecution’s argument he has not changes is wrong, saying: “I am truly sorry for it all.”
“I beg your honour for mercy, to be a father again, a son again, and be a leader in my community again.”
The defence also showed an 11-minute video portraying Combs’ career and family life, showing him with his children, and trying to inspire others in public settings.
Several minutes into the video, Combs put a hand over his face and started to cry.
The day before his sentencing, the rapper submitted a letter to Judge Arun Subramanian, showing remorse and blaming his past behaviour on drug addiction.
In the four-page letter, he apologised “for all of the hurt and pain that I have caused others by my conduct” and said he would never commit another crime if released.
“The old me died in jail and a new version of me was reborn,” he wrote of his 13-month incarceration at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn that previously held R Kelly and Ghislaine Maxwell.
The judge said the tone of the letter was “inappropriate” after prosecutor Christy Slavik said it amounted to “bullying” and had caused one victim – who had previously testified during the trial under the pseudonym “Mia” – to change her mind about addressing the court before the sentence was handed down on Friday.
Six of Combs’ seven children pleaded for leniency, in emotional addresses in front of the judge.
“My father is my superhero,” Combs’ son Justin said during the hearing. “Seeing him broken down of everything is something will never forget.”
Combs’ sentencing comes after a high-profile, seven-week federal trial, which wrapped up in July and featured testimony from more than 30 witnesses, including rapper Kid Cudi and Combs’ former girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura.
During the trial, two women – Ms Ventura and woman who testified under the pseudonym “Jane” – described being beaten, threatened, sexually assaulted and blackmailed by Combs.
Prosecutors said Combs coerced the women into participating in sex acts with prostitutes during drug-fuelled parties while he watched and sometimes filmed.
Ms Ventura referred to these multiday sexual marathons as “freak-offs” during her four days of testimony.
Following the trial, Combs was denied bail and returned to jail, where he has been held since September 2024.
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