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Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial updates: Bail denied due to 'propensity for violence'

Sean Combs was convicted of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.

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Last updated: Thursday, July 3, 2025 12:25AM GMT
Diddy On Trial Recap: Judge denies bail due to 'propensity for violence'

NEW YORK -- Sean "Diddy" Combs has been convicted of a prostitution-related offense but acquitted on the most serious charges at his New York trial on Wednesday.

Combs was convicted of transporting people across state lines for the purpose of engaging in prostitution. But the jury acquitted him of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges, which were related to allegations that he forced girlfriends into hundreds of drug-fueled sex marathons with other men. His lawyers said the women were willing participants.

The mixed result could still put Combs behind bars for up to a decade.

A judge declined to grant bail to Combs, meaning the hip hop mogul won't go free while he awaits sentencing in his sex crimes case. Sentencing has been set for October 3, 2025.

Tune into ABC at 10/9c Wednesday for an ABC News special, "Verdict: The Diddy Trial," on the Sean "Diddy" Combs trial, and streaming next day on Hulu and Disney+.

This story may contain accounts and descriptions of actual or alleged events that some readers may find disturbing.

(ABC News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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Jul 01, 2025, 2:53 PM GMT

Prosecutors give jurors 10 possible predicate acts to find Combs guilty of racketeering conspiracy

Federal prosecutors, discussing with the defense and Judge Arun Subramanian what instructions will be given to the jury, have afforded jurors 10 possible predicate acts to find Sean Combs guilty of racketeering conspiracy. To convict, they must unanimously agree on two of these so-called predicate acts.

Two of the predicate acts involve kidnapping and two involve transportation for purposes of prostitution. There is also arson, bribery, witness tampering, forced labor, sex trafficking and distributing controlled substances.

Prosecutors on Wednesday pruned the kidnapping and arson predicates, but they remain viable options for the jury.

For example, the jury will still consider whether the pattern of racketeering activity involved kidnapping, aiding and abetting kidnapping or conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Prosecutors earlier Wednesday removed attempted kidnapping as a theory of liability. Similarly, the jury will consider whether the pattern of racketeering activity involved arson, aiding and abetting arson or conspiracy to commit arson but will no longer consider attempted arson.

Prosecutors will still include in closing arguments the testimony of rapper Kid Cudi, which related to arson, and testimony by Combs' former employee Capricorn Clark, which related to kidnapping.

Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

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Jul 01, 2025, 2:53 PM GMT

Everyone who testified for the prosecution in the Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial

Across six weeks of testimony in Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex-trafficking and racketeering trial, federal prosecutors called 34 witnesses, attempting to prove that the rap mogul embraced violence and threats to coerce women into sex and to protect his music empire.

In addition to hearing four days of testimony from star witness and former Combs girlfriend Cassie Ventura, who alleged that he subjected her to a decade of abuse, the jury also heard six days of testimony from a former Combs girlfriend who testified under the pseudonym "Jane." She told jurors that Combs provided her drugs and forced her to participate in the orgies - called "freak-offs" or "hotel nights"- for the three years of their relationship.

The jury also heard from witnesses who testified they saw Combs be violent toward Ventura, former Combs employees who the prosecution alleged helped him commit crimes, male escorts who testified that they were paid by Combs' associates to participate in sexual encounters, and federal agents who conducted searches of Combs' property and analyzed evidence.

Prosecutors called multiple witnesses who, they argued, corroborated Ventura's testimony, including a makeup artist and male escort who both testified about witnessing Combs' violence. Ventura's mother said she took out a home equity loan after Combs allegedly blackmailed her daughter, a loan Combs later repaid; rapper Kid Cudi testified that he was told Combs broke into his home and said he suspected that Combs coordinated the firebombing of his car in retaliation for his relationship with Ventura; and Kerry Morgan told jurors that she pleaded with her former best friend to leave what she said was a toxic and abusive relationship with Combs.

Click here for more on the federal witnesses who were called during the trial.