On October 3, 2025, music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was sentenced to just over four years in prison by Judge Arun Subramanian in a New York federal court, following his July 2025 conviction on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
The sentence, significantly lighter than the 11 years sought by prosecutors, spares Combs from the maximum 20-year penalty, reflecting his acquittal on graver racketeering and sex trafficking charges that could have led to life imprisonment.
In a four-page letter to the judge on October 2, Combs sought leniency, attributing his actions to drug addiction and expressing remorse for assaulting ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura and another accuser, “Jane.” “I literally lost my mind… My domestic violence will always be a heavy burden,” he wrote, claiming 13 months in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center had reformed him. He cited teaching business classes to inmates and achieving sobriety for the first time in 25 years, pleading for a second chance for his seven children and 84-year-old mother.
However, Ventura and other accusers urged a harsher penalty, with Ventura calling Combs a “cruel, power-hungry, manipulative man” unchanged by jail time, fearing “swift retribution” if released. Prosecutors, in a September 29 filing, labeled him “unrepentant,” arguing his claim of “mutually toxic relationships” minimized decades of abuse.
During the sentencing hearing at 10:00 ET, Combs spoke alongside four defense lawyers, who presented a 15-minute video—contents undisclosed—to bolster his case for reform. Judge Subramanian’s decision to impose a four-year term suggests some weight was given to Combs’ expressions of remorse, though it falls short of the defense’s request for immediate release.
The case, widely covered by outlets like BBC and Forbes, continues to spark debate over accountability and celebrity influence, with Combs’ legal team hinting at a possible appeal.
