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Sean "Diddy" Combs is due to receive sentencing on Friday morning by a US district judge in New York City, after his guilty verdict earlier this 2025 on charges related to prostitution.

This article provides a overview of his criminal case: the charges he faced, what happened at trial, and potential next steps.

What Was He Found Guilty Of?

During July, following a two-month trial, a jury found Combs guilty of two counts of transporting individuals for prostitution. He was acquitted of the most serious charges against him, racketeering conspiracy and human trafficking, which carried the possibility of a life sentence.

The offenses on which he was convicted each have a maximum sentence of a decade. Combs had entered a not guilty plea to every count.

The presiding judge, Arun Subramanian, who presided over the trial, will deliver the ruling on the scheduled day, with the hearing due to begin at 10am ET in a federal courthouse in downtown Manhattan.

Combs, 55, has been detained without bond at the Brooklyn metropolitan detention center since his apprehension in September last year. Since the verdict, the court has denied two bail requests from Combs’s lawyers, and earlier this week Subramanian also denied a request to set aside the guilty verdicts.

What Was Combs Facing?

Government attorneys accused the Bad Boy Records founder of using his power, fame, wealth and influence, and using violence, threats and blackmail, to force two of his former girlfriends into engaging in drug-fueled sexual marathons with male escorts. Such sessions were often referred to by the accused as “freak-offs”, which prosecutors claimed Combs orchestrated, watched, masturbated to and occasionally recorded.

The government alleged that for over twenty years, Combs operated a criminal enterprise – aided by staff and allies – to carry out and hide offenses including sex-trafficking, drug dealing, corruption and abduction.

Despite being convicted on two counts, Combs has denied wrongdoing. His lawyers have insisted that all sexual activity was consensual and that no criminal enterprise existed.

What Happened During the Trial?

The prosecution presented more than 30 witnesses, including former partners of Combs – singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and a second individual who gave evidence under the pseudonym of “Jane” – who described the alleged events in explicit terms, and claimed that Combs coerced and threatened them into participating.

Ventura was the key witness for the prosecution. She testified that during her 11-year, on-off relationship with Combs, he subjected her to physical, sexual and emotional abuse and to blackmail. The court was presented with the 2016 video of Combs attacking Ventura in a corridor. Jane also testified of a violent altercation with Combs.

Additional testimony included former employees, escorts, police officers, hotel staff and celebrities including musician Kid Cudi and artist Dawn Richard. Combs chose not to take the stand.

Combs’s legal team acknowledged past instances of domestic violence, but disputed that any force or trafficking occurred. They maintained that every sexual act was agreed upon and part of a “swingers’ lifestyle”, and argued that Ventura and Jane were consenting adults in the sex acts.

How Much Time Could He Serve?

Combs’s attorneys have asked the judge for a sentence of a maximum of 14 months in jail, which, considering time served, would permit his release before the end of the year. They claim that Combs has already been “sufficiently penalized” by spending over a year in the “harsh environment” at the facility.

The prosecution, however, have requested at least 135 months (over a decade) and a $500,000 fine. In court filings, they portrayed Combs as “unrepentant” and said that “his history and characteristics show years of abuse and violence.

What Was Said By the Victims?

The prosecution submitted several victim impact statements to the court before the sentencing, including one from Ventura.

“While the jury did not seem to understand or believe that I engaged in the events because of the pressure and intimidation the accused used against me, I know that is the truth, and his punishment should reflect the truth of the testimony and my personal experience as a survivor,” Ventura wrote.

“I am so fearful that if he walks free, his first actions will be immediate revenge towards me and other individuals who testified about his abuse, at trial,” she wrote.

“If there is one thing I have gained from this experience, it is that victims and survivors will never be safe,” she continued. “I hope that your ruling considers the facts at hand that the panel failed to see.”

What Comes Next?

After sentencing, Combs’s attorneys could challenge the sentence. Combs’s team is also expected to contest his conviction.

Additionally, Combs faces numerous civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault and other misconduct. He has disputed all allegations in those suits.