Sean “Diddy” Combs, the hip-hop mogul convicted on interstate prostitution charges, begged a federal judge for mercy during a dramatic sentencing hearing Friday, insisting he has “changed for the better.”
“I can’t change the past, but I can change the future,” Combs told Judge Arun Subramanian inside the U.S. District Courthouse in lower Manhattan just after 4 p.m. ET.
He apologized to two former girlfriends who accused him of physical and sexual abuse: Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, the R&B singer who dated him off-and-on for a decade, and a woman identified in court under the pseudonym “Jane.”
“My actions were disgusting, shameful and sick. I was sick from the drugs. I was out of control. I needed help and I didn’t get the help,” Combs said.
“I lost all of my businesses and lost my career and destroyed my reputation, and most of all, I lost my self-respect,” Combs added. “I have been humbled and broken to my core. I hate myself right now. I’ve been stripped down to nothing.”
He broke down crying as he directly addressed his mother, Janice Combs, who was seated in the courtroom’s gallery. “You taught me better,” he said, sobbing and placing his hands on his head. “You raised me better.”
Combs, facing prison time for his convictions on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, addressed the packed courtroom nearly five hours into a lengthy proceeding that featured impassioned legal arguments and tearful pleas for leniency from six of the hip-hop mogul’s children.
U.S. government prosecutors, who are pushing for a more than 11-year prison sentence, argued that Combs is “unrepentant” and poses a danger to others because of his years of alleged abuse. Combs’ alleged pattern of violence is “something the public must be protected from,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik said.
Combs’ legal team presented their client in starkly different terms. Nicole Westmoreland, one of his attorneys, repeatedly fought back tears while praising her client as a barrier-breaking entrepreneur who advocated for social justice and the Black community. “I don’t think he needs any more punishment,” Marc Agnifolo, the rapper’s lead attorney, later told the judge.
Quincy Brown, Combs’ eldest son, characterized his father as a “changed man” who has “learned a major lesson.” Christian Combs, his third eldest son, asked the judge to “please give us grace and please give him mercy.” Combs wept and held his head in his hands as each of his children walked up to a podium to deliver brief testimonials on his behalf.
In a sweeping indictment filed last year, federal prosecutors accused Combs of orchestrating a violent criminal enterprise and forcing women and male escorts to participate in drug-fueled marathon sexual encounters known as “freak offs.” He pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing.
Combs was convicted on the prostitution charges on July 2 at the conclusion of a seven-week criminal trial this summer. The jury acquitted him on two more serious charges — one count of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking.
Combs’ lawyers argued that their client never led any criminal scheme and asserted that his accusers — including his ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and a woman pseudonymously identified as “Mia” — willingly participated in the rapper’s choreographed “freak offs.”
In a letter to Subramanian submitted before the sentencing hearing, Combs apologized and expressed “how sincerely sorry I am for all of the hurt and pain that I have caused.”
“I lost my way. I got lost in my journey. Lost in the drugs and the excess. My downfall was rooted in my selfishness,” Combs wrote in the letter, dated Thursday. The letter marked the first time Combs, who did not testify in his own defense, directly addressed Subramanian at length.
Subramanian denied bail for Combs after jurors delivered their mixed verdict. The Grammy-winning rapper has been in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Katherine Koretski, Samantha Cookinham and Matt Lavietes contributed.
