After two years of investigations, accusations and trial, the case against New York rapper Sean John Combs, known as ‘Puff Daddy’ or ‘Diddy’, was closed on October 3 with a much lower sentence than expected when the scandal broke: 50 months in prison and a fine of $500,000.
By July, the most serious charges, those of racketeering and sex trafficking, which could have carried a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, had already been dismissed. He was only convicted of two counts of transportation for the purpose of prostitution, the lesser offenses he was charged with, all stemming from what happened in the sex marathons or ‘freak offs’ that the rapper orchestrated between prostitutes and his now ex-partners.
A star-studded luxury setting
These marathons, in which the sentence states that Sean “Diddy” Comb used his power to “physically and psychologically” abuse women, were held as part of the ‘White Parties’ organized by Diddy.
Mainly in his East Hampton mansion, the summer resort of wealthy New Yorkers.
There, the singer summoned the guests, who had to wear white and who came en masse due to the fame that the parties quickly acquired, which were attended by up to a thousand people.
Names like Jennifer Lopez -who was Sean “Diddy” Combs’ partner between 1999 and 2001-, Leonardo DiCaprio, Beyoncé, Paris Hilton and Mariah Carey.
Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, Kim Kardashian, Jay Z, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ashley Olsen, Russell Brand or Mel B. were some of the celebrities who participated in the parties, whose first edition was in 1998.
Famous faces who were having fun, as testified by the numerous images of those parties that have circulated for years on social networks, without knowing what was going on when most of them left the house.
Then began the sex marathons that began to be investigated when singer Cassie Ventura denounced Diddy, then her partner, for sexual abuse in 2023.
Accusations of sex trafficking
Complaints by Ventura and another woman named ‘Jane’ led to an investigation that uncovered “elaborate sex shows.”
In which he allegedly forced a number of women to have sex with male sex workers, often under the influence of drugs, according to the New York District Attorney’s Office.
On March 25, 2024, authorities searched Sean “Diddy” Combs’ residences in Los Angeles, New York and Miami as part of a federal investigation.
They found firearms and ammunition. Also electronic devices containing images and videos of the sexual encounters.
In September 2024, he was arrested in the Big Apple and booked into a Brooklyn prison, where he continues to serve the sentence that was ultimately imposed on him.
He had been reported for sexual harassment by more than 120 people, both men and women and at least 25 minors at the time of the events.
But the subsequent trial focused on only four of the cases.
Sean “Diddy” Combs was initially indicted on charges of racketeering conspiracy, forcible sex trafficking, fraud or coercion and human trafficking in federal court in New York.
And in April 2025, the prosecution charged him with two more crimes, a new crime of sex trafficking and a new crime of transportation for the purpose of prostitution.
A trial that became a spectacle
Finally, the trial began on May 5, 2025 in Manhattan and lasted eight weeks.
One of the harshest testimonies came from Cassie Ventura, who recounted brutal assaults and a rape.
As well as being forced to participate in encounters with dozens of sex workers while Sean “Diddy” Combs masturbated.
Throughout the trial, the prosecution called 34 witnesses and the defense called none.
And Combs decided not to testify.
Outside the courthouse, dozens of people gathered every day, demonstrating both for and against the singer.
Inside the room, barely three dozen people could get in, prompting some media outlets, such as the New York Times, to hire people to wait in line all night in order to guarantee a spot for their editors.
A trial under the spotlight
Tension outside and also inside, due to the presence of some of the rapper’s seven children.
Or friends like the controversial Kanye West, who attended one of the trial sessions.
It was a spectacle that ended in July when Sean “Diddy” Combs was acquitted of the most serious charges against him.
In October, he was sentenced to 50 months in prison on two counts of transportation for prostitution alone.
Just two months later, his time in prison has already been increased by one month due to alleged violations of prison rules, according to U.S. media.
At the moment, it is scheduled for release in June 2028.
And then Sean Diddy Combs might change his name again to start the new phase of his life.
With information from EFE
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