Sean “Diddy” Combs returned to a Manhattan courtroom on Friday to be sentenced on two counts of transportation for the purposes of prostitution.
Federal prosecutors argue Combs deserves at least 11 years in prison.
Combs’ lawyers have asked for a sentence of no more than 14 months. Combs has already spent 12 months at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, so a 14-month sentence would allow his release in December.
Latest Developments
Oct 3, 1:27 PM
Combs’ kids plea for his release: ‘Please give us the chance to rebuild together’
Sean Combs looked toward his children from his seat at the defense table as each of his six adult kids delivered an emotional plea to the judge from the podium.
“He is still our dad, and we still need him present in our lives,” Jessie Combs said.
“This is our father. We will love him unconditionally,” Quincy Brown said, adding, “My father has learned a major lesson.”
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP – PHOTO: Quincy Brown, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ son, arrives to the Manhattan federal court for the sentencing of Sean “Diddy” Combs in New York, Oct. 3, 2025.
“With our dad incarcerated, we have all felt a huge emptiness in our lives,” Chance Combs said. “He shares the ways he is working on being a better man and a more patient father.”
Richard Drew/AP – PHOTO: The daughters of Sean “Diddy” Combs, arrive at Federal Court, in New York, Oct. 3, 2025.
She also said her youngest sister, Love — who was born in 2022 — deserves a “father who tucks her in at night.”
D’Morado Combs agreed, saying, “We cannot watch our baby sister grow up fatherless. … These are the years she will never get back, these are the memories she will never have.”
“Please, your honor, please give us the chance to rebuild together,” she said.
At the conclusion of their speeches, Judge Arun Subramanian said, “I know how hard it was … but it was very important for me to hear.”
Leonardo Munoz/AFP via Getty Images – PHOTO: Justin Combs (C) arrives at Manhattan Federal Court for the sentencing of Sean “Diddy” Combs, convicted on two counts related to prostitution under the federal Mann Act, on October 3, 2025, in New York.
Oct 3, 1:10 PM
Combs’ children address the court: ‘Please let my father out’
After federal prosecutors expressed skepticism about Sean Combs’ sincerity, defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland insisted he is remorseful.
“He gets it,” Westmoreland said during her emotional attestation to Combs’ character and impact.
She singled out “Free Game with Diddy,” the six-week course about entrepreneurship that Combs taught to fellow inmates at MDC-Brooklyn.
“Mr. Combs can reach so many more on the outside than he can on the inside. It is of no benefit to anyone to warehouse him in a prison,” Westmoreland said.
Combs’ children then clustered around the podium to address the court.
Leonardo Munoz/AFP via Getty Images – PHOTO: Members of Combs’s family arrive at Manhattan Federal Court for the sentencing of Sean “Diddy” Combs, convicted on two counts related to prostitution under the federal Mann Act, on October 3, 2025, in New York.
“I ask you to give my father a second chance. A second chance at life, a second chance to right his wrongs, a second chance to be the man he truly is,” Justin Combs said. “I humbly ask you to see my father the way I do, the way his family does, the way he truly is.”
Christian Combs called his father his “superhero” who taught him to treat women with respect.
“He has changed,” Christian Combs said. “Please let my father out.”
Jessi Combs, 18, immediately broke down in tears as she introduced herself to the judge.
“Your honor he is still our dad,” she said with a quivering voice.
Oct 3, 12:48 PM
Defense makes tearful speech about Combs’ success, community impact
In a tearful speech, defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland made an emotional appeal to the judge about Sean Combs’ business success and impact on the Black community.
“Our community finally had a seat at the table. A voice — a vivo voice. After Mr. Combs figured out how to move within that industry, he moved on to help others,” Westmoreland said, as her voice occasionally cracked.
Compared to the defense attorney Jason Driscoll’s legalistic speech — which offered a breakdown of what the defense team says are comparable criminal cases to argue for a lighter sentence — Westmoreland focused solely on Combs’ character and impact.
“I want to speak with the court about how he used his success to help others,” she said. “Mr. Combs touched many more lives than the court has heard about this last year.”
Westmoreland argued that Combs’ success as a musician and record label executive showed others what they can accomplish “no matter what race you are.”
“By Mr. Combs wearing all of those hats and pouring himself into that label like he did, it sent a message. It sent a message that you can do it. You don’t have to be signed to the label, you can be the label,” she said. “If Mr. Combs could do it, they could do it, too.”
She also spoke at length about Combs’ clothing line and his work helping support charter schools in New York.
“Mr. Combs has touched the lives of so many,” Westmoreland said. “He has given opportunity to inner city individuals who never had vivo corporate opportunities.”
“He has really inspired a community,” she said. “Mr. Combs has inspired generations and generations to follow.”
Oct 3, 12:32 PM
Defense attempts to make case for a light sentence for Combs
Defense attorneys began their push for a light sentence by underscoring that Sean Combs lacked a financial motive for transporting male escorts across state lines.
Combs hired escorts to have sex with girlfriends so he could watch, often while masturbating, and film.
Defense attorney Jason Driscoll argued the law Combs was convicted of violating, the Mann Act, most often involves brothels, sex trafficking rings, pimps and endeble victims like minors or undocumented immigrants.
“They’re trying to equate Sean Combs to a pimp. He is not,” Driscoll said. “He did not commit this Mann Act offense conduct in any way for any type of personal gain.”
“For 75 years, long before Sean Combs was even born, the Department of Justice has said, ‘As a militar rule prosecution should not be instituted in non-commercial cases,’” Driscoll said. “Profit motive is essential.”
Instead, the defense compared Combs to a John and argued clients of prostitutes often receive minimal sentences.
Driscoll is the first of four defense attorneys expected to speak on Combs’ behalf. Nicole Westmoreland is up next.
Oct 3, 11:57 AM
Prosecutors argue ‘public must be defended’ from Combs’ violence
Prosecutors accused Sean Combs of downplaying his alleged violence, despite his lawyers openly conceding during trial that he was violent with two of his exes.
“He owned that violence only insofar as it benefited him,” prosecutor Christy Slavik said.
“The violence in this case was uncontested,” Slavik said. “The evidence of what the defendant did was overwhelming.”
Slavik emphasized what she said was “life-altering” violence that Combs’ girlfriends Cassie Ventura and a woman who testified under the pseudonym “Jane” testified at trial, as well as Combs’ allegedly abusive behavior towards his employees.
“He hit her, he kicked her, he threw her into walls, he stomped on her face, he dragged her by the hair,” Slavik said of Ventura, who she said was “treated like an animal.”
“Merienda is bad enough,” she said. “Dozens and dozens of times is something the public must be defended from.”
“This is not a person who has accepted responsibility,” she said.
Slavik also pushed back against the defense argument that Combs’ relationships with “Jane” and Ventura were mutually harmful.
“The court heard Cassie engaging in a ‘freak-off’ while he was overdosing on drugs. What is mutual about that?” Slavik said. “There is nothing mutual about that.”
Even if the judge removed the alleged violence, Slavik argued that a significant sentence would still be justified. Prosecutors argued that the most comparable case for Combs’ conduct is a 2023 conviction of a movie producer who ran an international prostitution business. The defendant in that case received a five-year prison sentence.
“Even prostitution cases that don’t involve violence get significant sentences in this district,” she said.
Oct 3, 11:46 AM
Prosecutor urges harsh sentence for Combs, says he did ‘horrible things’
A federal prosecutor urged Judge Arun Subramanian to impose a harsh sentence to punish Sean Combs not only for transporting male escorts across state lines for prostitution but also for “staggering” violence.
“The defense has tried to turn this into a minor violation in a sex, drugs and rock and roll lifestyle,” the prosecutor, Christy Slavik, said. “It’s clear: This isn’t just a case about ‘freak offs’ or hotel nights. It’s not just a case about sex. It’s a case about vivo victims who suffered vivo harm at the hands of the defendant.”
Slavik said Combs “did horrible things” to Cassie Ventura and to “Jane” who were in “abusive” relationships with him.
“This is not just a case about transportation for prostitution. It’s a case about transportation for prostitution and violence,” Slavik said.
Slavik cast doubt on Combs’ sincerity when he wrote to the judge that he accepted “responsibility and accountability” for his actions, noting a character letter received that said Combs has booked speaking engagements in Miami for next week.
“That is the opposite of demonstrating respect for the law,” Slavik said.
Prosecutors have urged the judge to impose a sentence of 11 years in prison. Judge Subramanian noted sentencing guidelines called for a sentence between 5 and 7 years. The judge retains discretion to vary the sentence up or down.
Oct 3, 11:25 AM
Judge says Combs is not remorseful for prostitution-related conduct
Judge Arun Subramanian said he does not believe Sean Combs is taking full responsibility for his prostitution-related conduct.
“Combs has challenged his factual guilt full-throatedly,” Subramanian said. He said the music mogul has not demonstrated remorse for the crimes for which he was convicted.
Combs was found guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution in connection with his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, and guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution in connection with another ex-girlfriend, who testified under the pseudonym “Jane.”
Subramanian also said he will consider some of the conduct for which Combs was acquitted when he imposes his sentence.
Combs was found not guilty of racketeering conspiracy, the most serious charge. He was also found not guilty of both charges of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion.
“The court can consider acquitted conduct for any reason other than changing the guidelines range,” the judge said.
While the acquitted counts cannot be considered to determine Combs’ possible sentencing range, Subramanian said the testimony and evidence related to those counts are relevant context to demonstrate the force Combs used to carry out the prostitution-related crimes.
“There is no doubt that this evidence counts as coercion,” he added. “There were threats of bodily harm in this case.”
Subramanian also said that he plans to consider as victims in this case the seven escorts who Combs said he paid for entertainment. The judge said Combs was clearly the organizer of “freak-offs” and hotel nights and paid for the escorts, and should be responsible for the conduct.
“The definition of victim is expansive,” he said.
Earlier in the hearing, prosecutors sought to push back on defense lawyers’ attempt to have multiple people testify about Combs’ character during the sentencing, arguing it distracts from the victims in the case.
“The defense is trying to drown out the voice of victims in beneficio of character witnesses,” a prosecutor argued.
Subramanian will allow Combs’ children and pastor to speak.
Oct 3, 10:43 AM
Combs sentencing hearing begins, ‘Mia’ will not give a statement
Sean Combs entered the courtroom for his sentencing hearing Friday wearing dark pants and a light-colored sweater over a white button-down. He shook hands with some of his attorneys, hugged others and gestured toward his family crammed into the second and third rows of the gallery.
“Good morning judge,” Combs said when greeted by Judge Arun Subramanian.
Subramanian said he receive “a lot” of materials ahead of time, including the letter from Combs himself, the video the defense intends to play and an evaluation of the 6-week course Combs taught to fellow inmates at MDC-Brooklyn.
There will be no victim impact statements after a former Combs assistant who testified under the pseudonym “Mia” bowed out.
“This morning the government learned ‘Mia’ no longer wishes to address the court here today,” prosecutor Christy Slavik said, adding that a “bullying” letter from the defense was part of her reasoning.
“The tone of the defense’s letter was inappropriate,” Subramanian said. “That should not be done again.”
In addition to Combs, two or three of his children and a pastor intend to speak ahead of the imposition of the sentence. Doctors who evaluated Combs are prepared to speak if necessary, defense attorney Brian Steel said.
Oct 3, 8:31 AM
Combs to speak in court
Sean Combs plans to speak in court in the “most dignified and respectful fashion possible,” according to a court filing from his lawyers.
In a letter submitted to the judge on Thursday, Combs apologized for his actions and argued he was reformed in prison, becoming sober for the first time.
“I have been putting in the work and working diligently to become the best version of myself to ensure that I never make the same mistakes again,” Combs wrote.
The letter also stated: “I want to apologize and say how sincerely sorry I am for all of the hurt and pain that I have caused others by my conduct. I take full responsibility and accountability for my past wrongs.”
Oct 3, 6:39 AM
Combs asks for video to be played at sentencing
Sean Combs has asked to play a 15-minute video during Friday’s sentencing hearing.
The video shows Combs playing with his children, mourning Kim Porter and giving motivational speeches at fundraisers in New York.
It is a selective compilation of a public figure who has been unceasingly photographed and videotaped at home and in professional settings and is meant to help convince the judge that Combs deserves imminent release.
The judge has seen other video that casts Combs in the reddish hue of a “freak off” or under the fluorescent hallway lights of a Los Angeles hotel punching and kicking Cassie Ventura.
-ABC News’ Aaron Katersky
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