Sean P Diddy Combs has been denied an acquittal and a new trial after he was found guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. The 55-year-old rapper’s legal team had pleaded with Judge Arun Sumramanian for a new trial or acquittal, arguing that their client was wrongly charged under the Mann Act for consensual sexual activity between adults. However, their request was turned down, according to court documents obtained by The Mirror US.
Combs was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, but was cleared of the more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. As Diddy braces himself for his sentencing, scheduled for Friday, his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, has voiced her concerns about the potential consequences if the rapper is released.
In the newly released court documents, District Judge Subramanian stated: « It’s certainly correct that Combs is asking the Court to find retroactive misjoinder in an unusual circumstance. He says that the evidence that was introduced on the RICO and sex-trafficking charges prejudiced him on the Mann Act counts.
« But he was acquitted on the RICO and sex-trafficking counts. So his claim is that the jury was prejudiced against him because of the evidence of racketeering and sex trafficking, but still didn’t [find] him guilty of those same counts. »
The documents continued, « Applying the relevant factors, Combs fails to carry his ‘heavy burden’ of showing spillover prejudice. The Court takes the factors in reverse order, starting with the third: the strength of the government’s case.
« As described earlier, the government at trial presented overwhelming evidence of Combs’s guilt under the Mann Act on many occasions with respect to both Ventura and Jane. That evidence consisted of testimony from Ventura and Jane, testimony from the escorts involved, and evidence from text messages and emails. The government proved its case many times over.
« That by itself might be enough to dispose of Combs’s challenge. But the other factors don’t do much to help Combs either. He concedes that under the second factor, « if the inflammatory evidence would have been admissible anyway on a separate trial for the remaining counts, » then his « claim of spillover prejudice likely fails. » That narrows any factual challenges to evidence unrelated to the Mann Act charges, like arson or forced labour, to give a few examples.
« But on the first factor, it isn’t at all clear that this evidence worked to incite the jury or prejudice Combs. It weighs heavily that the jury declined to convict him on any of the counts related to that conduct. Had the prejudice indeed been so great, one would expect a jury to convict on the most relevant counts before it could spill over and infect the others. A new trial is not warranted. »
Elsewhere, the court documents read, « Combs is right that the Mann Act’s text and application have changed over the last century. But that has little relevance to his conduct, which sits at the heart of the Act’s legitimate proscriptions. Unsurprisingly then, his conviction raises no constitutional problem. »
Federal prosecutors have urged Judge Subramanian to jail Combs for a minimum of 11 years and impose a £400,000 fine.
The sentencing recommendation was submitted late on Monday evening, with prosecutors claiming Diddy took advantage of vulnerable people for his own sexual satisfaction.
« His crimes of conviction are serious and have warranted sentences over 10 years in multiple cases for defendants who, like Sean Combs, engaged in violence and put others in fear, » prosecutors stated in the documents, obtained by The Mirror US.
Express.co.uk has contacted Combs’ legal representatives for comment.
