By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Sean “Diddy” Combs’ lawyers on Tuesday urged the judge who oversaw his sex crimes trial to release him from jail on a $50-million bond ahead of his October 3 sentencing, after the hip-hop mogul was found not guilty of the most serious charges he faced.
In a court filing, Combs’ defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn were dangerous, and said defendants convicted in the past of prostitution-related charges that were similar to Combs’ were usually released before their sentencing.
“Sean Combs should not be in jail for this conduct,” Agnifilo wrote. “In fact, he may be the only person currently in a United States jail for being any sort of john.”
A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, which brought the charges, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
After a six-week trial, Combs, 55, was found not guilty on July 2 of three counts of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy, which carried potential life sentences.
He was convicted on two lesser charges of transportation to engage in prostitution. Each of those counts carries a maximum 10-year sentence, but prosecutors have acknowledged that federal sentencing guidelines appeared to recommend a sentence well below the statutory maximum.
Prosecutors alleged the Bad Boy Records founder used physical violence, threats, and the resources of his business empire to coerce two of his former girlfriends to take part in days-long, drug-fueled sexual performances with male sex workers sometimes called “freak-offs.”
Combs pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers argued his two girlfriends took part willingly in the encounters.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian denied Combs’ initial request for release immediately after the verdict, citing the ample evidence presented at trial of violent acts he committed.
In their filing on Tuesday, Combs’ lawyers said it was unusual for him to be prosecuted on the prostitution-related offenses at all because he was not profiting financially from the acts of prostitution.
They also said Combs’ detention since September 2024 at the MDC should qualify as an “exceptional circumstance” warranting Combs’ release despite the evidence he had been violent. Combs’ lawyers have said there have been fights in his unit, and wrote on Tuesday that his safety is at risk.
The U.S. Bureau of Prisons, which operates MDC, has said it is engaged in “intensive efforts” to improve conditions there. The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New YorkEditing by Rod Nickel)
