Sean ‘Diddy‘ Combs has been denied bail, and must now remain behind bars in New York City as he awaits sentencing on prostitution-related charges.
The 55-year-old rapper has been imprisoned at the infamous Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn since his arrest last September at a New York City hotel for coercing women into having drug-fueled sex marathons with men while he watched.
Combs was ultimately acquitted, however, of the most serious charges – racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges carrying potential life prison terms.
But he was convicted last month of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution for arranging for girlfriends and male sex workers to travel to engage in sexual encounters that he filmed – charges that carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The Bad Boy Records founder is now due to be sentenced on October 3, and his lawyers have repeatedly argued he should be allowed to be free until then.
In a filing last week, defense attorney Marc Agnifilo cited the severe conditions at the Brooklyn detention center and claimed Combs was being treated unfairly for engaging in a ‘swingers’ lifestyle.
But prosecutors argued that Combs’ conviction carries a mandatory requirement that he remains in jail prior to sentencing – and Judge Arun Subramanian, who oversaw the entire trial, ultimately ruled against the motion on Monday.
‘Combs failed to satisfy his burden to demonstrate an entitlement to release,’ the judge wrote in his decision.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has been denied bail, and now must remain behind bars until his October 3 sentencing on prostitution-related charges
Combs was convicted last month of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution for arranging for girlfriends and male sex workers to travel to engage in sexual encounters that he filmed
He went on to claim the I’ll Be Missing You singer’s arguments ‘might have traction in a case that didn’t involve evidence of violence, coercion or subjugation in connection with the acts of prostitution at issue, but the record here contains evidence of all three.’
Still, the judge said his decision not to allow Combs to go free does not foreshadow what sentence he might impose against the rapper.
Subramanian will now have wide latitude in determining how long Combs will stay in jail – but he can also choose to ignore the guidelines, which are not mandatory.
Those guidelines, if properly calculated, would call for the hip hop mogul to serve between 21 to 27 months in prison, his lawyers have said.
But prosecutors said after the verdict that they thought federal sentencing guidelines meant to prevent wide disparities in sentencings for the same crimes would likely call for a prison term of four to five years.
Those guidelines ‘will be substantially higher’ in Combs’ case, the prosecutors suggested last week as they raised the risk that the rapper may flee if he were released on bail.
They even claimed that Combs poses a threat to the community citing his ‘extensive history of violence – and his continued attempt to minimize his recent violent conduct.’
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo, though, denied those claims in his request for Combs to be released on bail.
‘Sean Combs will not be violent to anyone. As we said in court, this jury gave him his life back, and he will not squander his second chance at life, nor would he do anything to further jeopardize his seven children not having a father, and four of his children not having a parent at all,’ Agnifilo argued.
He added that his client would be amenable to house arrest at his Miami home, electronic monitoring, private security guards and other requirements.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
