Jury reaches verdict in Sean "Diddy" Combs sex trafficking trial

CBS News Live

CBS News New York Live

The assemblage successful Sean "Diddy" Combs' national enactment trafficking and racketeering proceedings successful New York City told the justice it has reached a verdict. The improvement comes aft jurors said Tuesday they'd agreed connected 4 of the 5 counts against Combs but disagreed connected racketeering conspiracy. The assemblage is expected to present its determination shortly. 

Jurors began deliberating successful U.S. District Court successful little Manhattan connected Monday. They said they'd reached a partial verdict Tuesday, but Judge Arun Subramanian sent them backmost to proceed deliberating connected the remaining count.

Combs could look a maximum condemnation of up to beingness successful situation if convicted connected the astir superior charges.

What are the charges against Sean "Diddy" Combs?

The expansive assemblage indictment against the 55-year-old Combs, unsealed successful September 2024, initially charged the hip-hop mogul with 3 counts pursuing his arrest astatine a Manhattan hotel. In April, earlier the proceedings began, prosecutors filed additional charges, bringing the full fig of counts against him to five.

Combs pleaded not guilty to each the charges. 

The charges against Combs are:

• Count 1: Rackeering conspiracy

• Count 2: Sex trafficking by force, fraud oregon coercion (Casandra Ventura)
• Count 3: Transportation to prosecute successful prostitution(Casandra Ventura)
• Count 4: Sex trafficking by force, fraud oregon coercion ("Jane")
• Count 3: Transportation to prosecute successful prostitution ("Jane")

"Jane" is simply a pseudonym utilized successful tribunal for an ex-girlfriend of Combs who testified against him. 

The prostitution-related charges allege violations of the Mann Act, a instrumentality that makes it a national transgression to transport idiosyncratic crossed authorities lines for prostitution.

The complaint of racketeering conspiracy requires prosecutors to beryllium a fig of elements: that determination was an statement among 2 oregon much radical to enactment successful a signifier of enactment that would impact interstate commerce; that the suspect willfully joined it; and that members of the conspiracy committed 2 oregon much racketeering acts. The charging papers lists a fig of alleged racketeering acts, including kidnapping, bribery, enactment trafficking and forced labor.

Prosecutors alleged that Combs' concern empire created a transgression endeavor that helium utilized for years to screen up acts of unit and maltreatment and to coerce women into fulfilling his intersexual desires. Jurors heard from much than 30 witnesses implicit the people of 7 weeks arsenic the prosecution went done its case.

Combs denied the accusations but chose not to instrumentality the stand to attest successful his defense. His attorneys did not telephone immoderate witnesses during the trial, though they did behaviour extended cross-examinations of the government's witnesses. Combs' lawyers argued the prosecution failed to beryllium the charges beyond a tenable doubt.

"Freak-offs" portion of affectional and graphic testimony 

The high-profile trial, which started successful May, included graphic and affectional grounds from 2 of Combs' erstwhile girlfriends.

Casandra Ventura, the R&B vocalist known arsenic Cassie who spent much than a decennary with him, testified astir drug-fueled enactment sessions that Combs allegedly referred to arsenic "freak-offs." Ventura testified that helium directed each the encounters, which could past for days, and that she felt forced to enactment to marque him happy.

Ventura testified that Combs controlled each facet of her life, and that she often did things retired of fear, since carnal maltreatment was "frequent." 

Combs' attorneys argued that the encounters were consensual. During cross-examination, the defence showed the assemblage a 2009 connection from Ventura to Combs that read, "I'm ever acceptable to freak off."

Ventura besides testified astir a 2016 incidental which was caught connected surveillance video showing Combs beating and kicking her successful a California edifice hallway. Combs apologized astatine the time, saying his behaviour was "inexcusable" and that helium took "full responsibility" for his actions. 

Ventura testified that the onslaught happened arsenic she was trying to permission a "freak-off" that had turned violent. A erstwhile edifice information serviceman testified that Combs offered him currency aft the attack, which the serviceman said helium understood to beryllium a bribe.

Ventura had filed a civilian suit against Combs successful 2023, accusing him of physically and sexually abusing her. Combs denied the claims and rapidly reached a settlement with her. In his closing argument to the assemblage Friday, defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo said, "If you had to prime a victor successful this full thing, it's hard not to prime Cassie."

Another erstwhile woman of Combs testified nether the pseudonym "Jane" to support her identity. She told the tribunal she often participated successful what she called "hotel nights," which besides progressive drugs. Jane testified she would person enactment with a antheral escort portion Combs watched. She said she told Combs galore times that she didn't privation to person enactment with different men and didn't similar the "hotel nights." 

Combs' lawyers displayed messages showing her mounting up "hotel nights." Jane said she felt pressured and that she had grown financially babelike connected Combs.

In the prosecution's closing arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik described Combs arsenic "the person of a transgression enterprise. He doesn't instrumentality nary for an answer. And present you cognize astir galore crimes helium committed with members of his enterprise."

She said helium utilized a "small army" of employees to harm women and past screen it up. "He thought that his fame, wealthiness and powerfulness enactment him supra the law," Slavik said.

Agnifilo countered by arguing that prosecutors "badly exaggerated" grounds of a swinger manner and threesomes, combining it with recreational cause usage and calling it a racketeering conspiracy.

"He did not bash the things he's charged with. He didn't bash racketeering conspiracy and enactment trafficking," Combs' lawyer said.

"Sean Diddy Combs: The Verdict," a one-hour peculiar connected the case, volition aerial connected CBS News 24/7 astatine 9 p.m. ET the nighttime of the jury's decision. Download the free CBS News app to ticker connected your mobile oregon streaming device, oregon watercourse connected Paramount+.

Jericka Duncan, Alice Gainer and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

• Sean Diddy Combs