Crime Alert Special Report: Sean 'Diddy' Combs Goes to Prison for 50 Months

Sean “Diddy” Combs receives 50 months in federal prison for transporting people across state lines for sex. Drew Nelson reports.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Alart, hourly update, breaking crime news Now. I'm Drew Nelson,
Sean Diddy. Combs receives more than four years in federal
prison for transporting people across state lines for sex. Judge A.
Rune Subramanian, handing down the sentence, telling Combs he weighed
his commitment to sobriety, his work in the community, and
his family life, but said, quote, the court has to

(00:21):
consider all of your history here. A history of good
works can't wash away the record in this case, which
shows that you abuse the power and control over the
lives of women whom you profess to love. As for
the idea that he's being punished for paying for sex, quote,
you were no john, He said he must hand down
a substantial sentence quote to send a message to abusers

(00:41):
and victims alike that exploitation and violence against women is
met with real accountability. Combs was handed a fifty month
sentence under the Man Act, the judge finding Combs half
a million dollars, the maximum allowed by law. The judge
declined to reduce or extend the term beyond federal guidelines,
rejecting the defense's request for fourteen months, and the prosecutions

(01:03):
push for more than eleven years. The maximum was twenty
years total on both counts. Before sentencing, Combs addressed the
court quote, I want to thank you for giving me
the chance to finally speak up for myself. Quote. My
actions were disgusting, shameful, and sick. I was sick, sick
from the drugs. I was out of control. I needed
help and I didn't get the help. And I cannot

(01:23):
make no excuse because my mother taught me quote. I
ask your honor for mercy. I beg your honor for mercy.
I asked your honor for the chance to be a
father again, a son again, and be a leader in
my community again, and get the help I desperately need.
The sentence marking the end of one of the most
high profile criminal cases in the history of the music industry,
exposing years of violence, manipulation, and exploitation by a man

(01:47):
who once ruled pop culture. The court cited the seriousness
of his crimes and the lasting pain of his victims,
while also noting his late admission of guilt and his
claims of personal change. The conviction came on two counts
of transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs was acquitted of
sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have resulted in
a life sentence. Prosecutors describe years of abuse and coercion,

(02:11):
saying Comb's used power, wealth, and fear to humiliate and
control women. They said his behavior caused emotional scars that
would last for life, calling his treatment of victims quote violent, dehumanizing,
and deliberate. Evidence presented in court included testimony from former
employees and male escorts who participated in what Combs called

(02:31):
free costs, which prosecutors said were organized acts of sexual domination.
The defense played an eleven minute video, which Diddy's team
also released to the public. The video showed Combs as
a devoted father and a self made entrepreneur giving back
to his community. It showed Combs giving several lectures as
school aid students looked on A word's hard. Just that

(02:54):
you guys are working this country, in this world we
live in. May have plan for y'all. I didn't listen
to that. I don't want y'all to listen to it.
I just feel like it's a poet, you know, yell,
Adults of power. Now we look out for y'all, will
utilize our power let make sure y'all all right in
the future. Put everything you can to your work. You know,

(03:14):
don't don't think the cool thing is not to do
your work. I don't think the cool thing is to
hang on the corner with your friends, Combs cried as
the video rolled just before the lunch break. The defense
argued that Combs was not a trafficker and had not
profited from the crimes. They said his judgment was clouded
by addiction and unchecked ego, not greed. His lawyers urged

(03:35):
the judge to consider his rehabilitation, describing him as a
quote deeply flawed man who had begun to take responsibility.
All six of his adult children gathered around the lectern,
pleading for leniency and describing their father's efforts to become
a better man. One of the sons he shares with,
kim Porter Quincy Brown, told the court quote, week after week,
we've seen him evolve something we haven't seen in fifteen years.

(03:59):
He's completely trying transformed. Justin Combs described his father as
quote my superhero. In a letter to the court, Combs
wrote that the quote old me died in jail and
a new version of me was reborn. He said he
had been sober for the first time in twenty five years,
and took full responsibility for the violence inflicted on Cassie
Ventura and the victim, known only as Jane. He said

(04:21):
his time and custody had forced him to face his
failures and rebuild himself spiritually. Combs has been held at
the Metropolitan Detention Center in Booklyn since his arrest in
twenty twenty four. He will remain there until his transfer
to a federal facility, where he will begin his sentence
with credit for time served about twelve months. His legal
team has vowed to appeal for more on the case

(04:42):
of Sean Ditty. Combs joined Crime Stories with Nancy Grace
now on Fox one. You can also find us on
Sirius XM Triumph Channel one to eleven at eight pm Eastern,
or find us on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.
With his crime alaer, I'm Drew Nelson.