Guilty on two of five counts Jury reaches verdict against Sean "Diddy" Combs

The verdict has been reached in the trial against Sean "Diddy" Combs. The jury found him partially guilty - but also acquitted him.

DPA

02.07.2025, 16:29

02.07.2025, 17:51

dpa

In the trial against Sean "Diddy" Combs for sexual offenses, the jury has found the former rap superstar partially guilty. The jury announced this to the court in New York after more than 13 hours of deliberations, according to US media reports.

The twelve jurors - eight men and four women - only found the 55-year-old guilty of charges relating to prostitution - the least serious of the charges.

On the most serious charge, conspiracy to commit organized crime, the jury returned a verdict of "not guilty". On the human trafficking charge, the jury also found not guilty.

In the course of his career, Sean Combs used the pseudonyms "Puff Daddy", "P. Diddy" and "Diddy", among others.

The rapper now faces a prison sentence of up to 20 years - but not life imprisonment, as he would have faced if he had been found guilty on all charges.

As usual, the sentence for Combs, who has been in custody since September, will be announced by Judge Arun Subramanian at a later date. The court wanted to decide on Wednesday whether Combs can remain at large until the sentence is announced.

Combs accepted the sentence in the presence of his mother and sister in the courtroom. According to media reports, Combs clapped his hands together after the announcement, then briefly placed them over his face and exhaled. He then smiled, shook hands with one of his lawyers, looked at his family, then put his hands together in thanks and quietly whispered his thanks to the jury.

The New York public prosecutor's office had accused the rapper of abusing, threatening and coercing women to fulfill his sexual desires over a period of years. He had run a "criminal enterprise" with helpers. Several women had reported years of severe sexual and physical abuse during the trial, which lasted several weeks. Combs had denied all allegations and pleaded not guilty.

The charge of conspiracy to commit organized crime was originally created for gang crimes such as those committed by the Mafia. This charge was already successfully used in the trial against singer R. Kelly to reveal a systematic structure of sexual abuse. This charge against Combs weighed heavily - but the prosecution was unable to convince the jurors that the defendant had carried out his actions together with a network of insiders. This presupposes knowledge on the part of all those involved that the conduct is punishable.

A clickbait and tabloid-fest

Because of numerous salacious aspects, the trial was also a clickbait and tabloid-fest. Millions of Americans and people around the world followed the trial in the media, and the intimate and disturbing details of the case became part of many people's daily gossip.

The trial brought back memories of similar sexual offense trials against ex-superstars in recent years - including against musician R. Kelly, comedian Bill Cosby and producer Harvey Weinstein. The allegations against Weinstein sparked the global MeToo movement, which has since faced a lot of backlash.

In addition to the charges brought by the New York public prosecutor's office, there are also numerous civil lawsuits against Combs. Among others, a law firm in Houston, Texas, is representing around 120 people with allegations against the rapper.

Born in Harlem, New York, in 1969, Combs was one of the most successful rappers in the world in recent decades with hits such as "I'll Be Missing You" and "Bad Boy For Life", and the musician, who has been married three times and has seven children, also founded his own label and was successful with a fashion brand. His family and rapper Kanye West, among others, showed their support for Combs in the courtroom.