Attorneys for Sean “Diddy” Combs have notified a US federal court of their plans to appeal the rap mogul’s conviction and 50-month prison sentence.
They filed a notice of appeal on Monday and are expected to submit formal documents soon.
Conviction and sentencing
Combs was convicted of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and acquitted on two other charges of sex trafficking and racketeering.
Judge Arun Subramanian said a substantial sentence was needed to send a message that abuse of women “is met with real accountability.”
He also issued Combs a $500,000 (£374,000) fine and five years of probation.
Combs had asked for a 14-month sentence, which would have seen him released shortly after the trial due to time served while awaiting it. Prosecutors, however, had sought more than 11 years in prison.
Combs apologised during sentencing
At his sentencing hearing in September, Combs told the judge: “My actions were disgusting, shameful, and sick.”
“I got lost in excess, I got lost in my ego,” he said, begging the court for mercy and apologising to two of the women who testified against him.
‘Diddy’ Comb’s legal team signalled that they would appeal both the conviction and the judge’s sentence.
Background of the case
Combs was arrested in September 2024, and his nearly two-month trial this summer drew international media attention.
Prosecutors accused him of using his influence in the music industry to operate a sex trafficking network, coercing women to participate in what were described as “freak-offs” with male escorts.
Much of the case centred on Combs’ relationship with singer Cassandra Ventura, who alleged he physically abused her and forced her into “hotel nights” with male escorts. Another witness, known as Jane, said she also felt pressured to take part in such encounters.
A jury found Combs not guilty of the two most serious charges- sex trafficking and racketeering- but guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
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