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Sean "Diddy" Combs is scheduled for sentencing on Friday morning by a federal judge in New York, after his guilty verdict earlier this 2025 on charges related to prostitution.

This article provides a recap of his criminal case: what he was indicted for, what happened at trial, and potential next steps.

What Charges Was He Convicted On?

During July, following a two-month trial, a jury found Combs guilty of two charges of transporting individuals for prostitution. He was found not guilty of the more severe allegations against him, racketeering and sex trafficking, which carried the possibility of a life imprisonment.

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

The presiding judge, Arun Subramanian, who oversaw the trial, will deliver the ruling on Friday, with the hearing set to start at 10am ET in a federal courthouse in lower Manhattan.

Combs, fifty-five, has been detained without bond at the Brooklyn detention facility since his arrest in the previous September. Since the verdict, the judge has rejected two bail requests from Combs’s legal team, and recently Subramanian also rejected a motion to overturn the convictions.

What Was Combs Facing?

Government attorneys alleged the Bad Boy Records founder of leveraging his status and resources, and employing intimidation and coercion, to coerce former partners into participating in drug-fueled sexual marathons with paid companions. Such sessions were often referred to by the accused as “freak-offs”, which they said Combs orchestrated, observed, masturbated to and sometimes filmed.

The government alleged that for more than two decades, Combs operated a criminal enterprise – assisted by employees and associates – to carry out and hide offenses including sex-trafficking, drug dealing, bribery and abduction.

Although found guilty on two counts, Combs has disputed wrongdoing. His attorneys have insisted that every encounter was mutually agreed and that no illicit organization was present.

What Transpired During the Trial?

The prosecution presented over thirty witnesses, including former partners of Combs – artist Cassie Ventura and another woman who gave evidence using the alias Jane – who described the alleged events in graphic detail, and alleged that Combs pressured and intimidated them into taking part.

Ventura was the key witness for the prosecution. She testified that during her 11-year, on-off relationship with Combs, he exposed her to physical, sexual and emotional abuse and to blackmail. The jury was shown the 2016 hotel surveillance footage of Combs attacking Ventura in a hallway. Jane also testified of a violent altercation with Combs.

Other witnesses included former employees, male escorts, law enforcement agents, hotel staff and public figures including musician Kid Cudi and artist Dawn Richard. Combs chose not to take the stand.

Combs’s defense attorneys acknowledged past instances of domestic violence, but denied that any coercion or trafficking took place. They maintained that all sexual activity was consensual and part of a “alternative lifestyle”, and argued that Ventura and Jane were willing participants in the sex acts.

What Sentence Could He Serve?

Combs’s attorneys have asked the judge for a penalty of no more than 14 months in prison, which, given time already served, would allow for his freedom by year's end. They argue that Combs has already been “sufficiently penalized” by serving 13 months in the “harsh environment” at the facility.

Federal prosecutors, however, have sought at least 135 months (over a decade) and a $500,000 fine. In legal documents, they portrayed Combs as “unrepentant” and said that “his background and behavior” show years of abuse and violence.

What Was Said By the Victims?

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

“While the jury did not seem to grasp or accept that I engaged in freak-offs because of the pressure and intimidation the accused used against me, I know that is the truth, and his punishment should account for the truth of the testimony and my lived experience as a victim,” Ventura wrote.

“I am so scared that if he is released, his first actions will be immediate revenge towards me and other individuals who testified about his misconduct, at trial,” she wrote.

“If there is one thing I have learned from this ordeal, it is that those affected will never be safe,” she continued. “I hope that your decision considers the facts at hand that the jury failed to see.”

What Comes After Sentencing?

Following the court's decision, Combs’s attorneys could challenge the decision. Combs’s team is also expected to appeal his conviction.

Separately, Combs faces numerous civil cases accusing him of sexual assault and other misconduct. He has disputed every claim in those suits.