By Jack Queen
NEW YORK (Reuters) -A federal judge on Tuesday said Sean “Diddy” Combs will be sentenced on October 3 after the music mogul was convicted on charges of transporting prostitutes to engage in drug-fueled sexual performances.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, who oversaw Combs’ trial in Manhattan, approved the date following a request from Combs’ lawyer Marc Agnifilo. Prosecutors and probation officers agreed to the date.
Combs, 55, remains in the Brooklyn jail where he has been held since his arrest last September, even though jurors cleared him of the most serious charges he faced.
Jurors acquitted Combs on July 2 on sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have put him behind bars for life. They convicted him on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
The mixed verdict was viewed widely as a disappointment for prosecutors, while Combs and his supporters expressed jubilation.
Prosecutors accused Combs of coercing two former girlfriends, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and a woman who testified under the pseudonym Jane, into unwanted sex with male sex workers, aided by his employees.
A third woman who testified under the pseudonym Mia told jurors Combs sexually assaulted her multiple times during her employment with him.
Combs pleaded not guilty to all five counts he faced.
His lawyers will file their sentencing recommendation by September 19, with prosecutors likely to follow a week later.
Prosecutors have said Combs could face 51 months to 63 months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, while the defense has said the same guidelines suggested a two-year sentence.
Subramanian is not required to follow the guidelines, and either side may propose different terms. The defense will have until July 30 to ask the judge to set aside Combs’ conviction.
Combs founded Bad Boy Records, and is known for having elevated hip-hop in American culture as he turned artists like Notorious B.I.G. and Usher into stars.
He still faces dozens of civil lawsuits accusing him of abuse. Combs has denied all wrongdoing.
(Reporting by Jack Queen and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio and Nick Zieminski)
