Verdict reached in Diddy sex crimes trial

(NewsNation) — A New York assemblage has reached a verdict successful the national enactment crimes proceedings against disgraced euphony mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.

The determination comes aft days of deliberation by a 12-member jury, which consisted of 8 men and 4 women.

Tuesday’s deliberation ended successful a deadlock aft the assemblage told Judge Arun Subramanian that they reached a unanimous verdict connected enactment trafficking and proscription to prosecute successful prostitution charges, but not connected racketeering.

The assemblage came backmost with a verdict 1 hr aft gathering Wednesday. 

Combs was charged with 1 number of racketeering conspiracy, 2 counts of enactment trafficking and 2 counts of proscription to prosecute successful prostitution.

The trial lasted for 7 weeks and included grounds from 34 witnesses. 

What is the maximum condemnation Diddy's charges carry?

Racketeering and enactment trafficking transportation a maximum condemnation of beingness successful prison. 

The enactment trafficking complaint besides carries a mandatory minimum condemnation of 15 years, and proscription for purposes of prostitution carries a maximum condemnation of 10 years.

What happened during the Diddy trial?

The government’s lawsuit brought connected respective erstwhile employees of Combs’ Bad Boy Entertainment companies, but its astir noteworthy witnesses were 2 erstwhile partners, vocalist Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and “Jane,” a societal media influencer who testified nether a pseudonym. 

Ventura, who was precocious word successful her gestation astatine the time, testified implicit 4 days astir the decade-long maltreatment she said she faced astatine Combs’ hands. She said she felt pressured to prosecute successful hundreds of intersexual events, dubbed “Freak Offs,” with enactment workers. These encounters were often filmed, and Ventura said she was threatened by Combs, who utilized the videos arsenic leverage implicit her. 

Jane testified for six days astir intersexual performances she called “hotel nights,” saying she felt coerced into engaging successful them arsenic precocious arsenic past August but did truthful due to the fact that she loved — and inactive loves — Combs.

Ventura was successful a narration with Combs from 2007 to 2018, portion Jane was with him from 2021 until his apprehension past year.

Prosecutors and defence lawyers played respective minutes of recordings of the “freak offs” and “hotel nights.”

The assemblage besides faced its stock of play erstwhile Judge Arun Subramanian excused 1 juror for not being truthful during the enactment process astir his spot of residence. 

The juror had casually mentioned to a subordinate of the tribunal unit that helium had moved successful with his woman successful New Jersey, which is extracurricular the jurisdiction of the Southern District of New York. 

What prosecutors argued successful Diddy proceedings

In their closing statements, the authorities painted Combs’ transgression endeavor arsenic his “kingdom.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik told the assemblage that Combs was idiosyncratic “who doesn’t instrumentality nary for an answer” and “counted connected soundlessness and shame” to alteration his abusive behavior.

She pointed to his “small army” of assistants and bodyguards — immoderate of whom were called to the witnesser basal earlier successful the proceedings — to assistance him harm women and assistance screen it up.

“When idiosyncratic commits a transgression arsenic portion of a group, they’re much almighty and dangerous,” Slavik said. “The suspect was a almighty man, but helium became much almighty and unsafe due to the fact that of his interior circle, his businesses — the enterprise.”

What Diddy's defence attorneys argued

While the prosecution presented a robust case, defence attorneys wrapped up theirs wrong hours, with nary witnesses. 

Much of their argument rested connected the mentation that each of the accusers were consenting adults and that nary 1 was forced to enactment successful Combs’ intersexual events. 

They relied mostly connected substance messages betwixt Combs and his ex-partners to amusement that the women were consenting and adjacent arranged for the intersexual encounters astatine times. 

Defense attorneys utilized their closing statements to telephone Combs’ prosecution overkill, saying that helium was being enactment connected proceedings for his intersexual proclivities and manner choices. 

Attorney Marc Agnifilo said prosecutors had “badly exaggerated” grounds of the swinger manner and threesomes to harvester it with recreational cause usage and telephone it a racketeering conspiracy.

“He did not bash the things he’s charged with. He didn’t bash racketeering conspiracy and enactment trafficking,” the lawyer said.

He besides mocked the prosecution’s assertion that Combs and his underlings had engaged successful hundreds of racketeering acts and their proposition that galore of his alleged "Freak Offs" and “hotel nights” were crimes.

He said Combs and Cassie had a “loving, beauteous relationship,” albeit a “complicated” one.

“If racketeering conspiracy had an opposite, it would beryllium their narration … they were profoundly successful emotion with each other,” Agnifilo said.