Hip hop mogul, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, has been sentenced to 50 months in jail for prostitution-related charges.
According to BBC, Judge Arun Subramanian sentenced Combs to 50 months, which is four years and two months.
The judge said “this sentence is fair to account for the severity of Combs’ crimes and the mitigating factors.
He said the evidence the court had seen against Combs is “massive”.
He referenced the “savage video” of Combs beating Cassie Ventura, his ex-girlfriend in a hotel hallway, and photos of “gashes and bruises”.
He said a significant sentence was required in order to be a deterrence, and to send a message.
Earlier during his address, Diddy thanked the judge for giving him the chance to “finally speak up for myself”.
He apologized to “all the victims of domestic violence”.
”I want to personally apologise again to Cassie Ventura,” he says.
He also apologises to Jane Doe, who testified in the trial under a pseudonym.
”I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he says.
Combs says “I want to apologise to my seven children”. He turns to face them and says all of their names.
”I’m so sorry. They deserved better.”
He turned to his mother Janice, and said sorry to her as well.
Along with apologising to Cassie Ventura and his family, Combs apologized to Jane, saying “I didn’t mean to hurt you, I’m sorry for dragging you into this mess.”
”My actions were disgusting, shameful, and sick,” he says.
He said he took responsibility for his actions.
”I got lost in excess, I got lost in my ego,” he tells the judge.
He told the judge directly, saying: “I ask your honour for mercy. I beg your honour for mercy.”
Prosecutors had said he was not remorseful, and Combs refuted that claim.
”I don’t have nobody to blame but myself,” he says. “I know that I’ve learned my lesson.”
He told the judge that if given another chance, he won’t let him down.
He ended by saying he would never jeopardise being in this situation again, or being away from his family again.
”That’s my deterrence,” he says.
The judge had addressed Combs at length before handing down the 50-month sentence.
He said he considered that Combs was a self-made artist, that he had been charitable and lifted up the black community, and that he had deep ties to his family.
But he rejected the defence’s portrayal of his relationships with Cassie and Jane as intimate and consensual.
“You abused them, physically, emotionally and psychologically,” he said.
He added that both women had thoughts of self harm and trauma that will last a lifetime.
He said the length of the conduct being over a decade also warranted a significant sentence.
“You had the money and the power to keep it going,” he said. “This was subjugation.”
During trial, Diddy has already spent 14 months in jail, which would be deducted from the final sentence.