BREAKING: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sentenced

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Sean “Diddy” Combs has been sentenced on two counts of transportation for the purposes of prostitution.

Combs was convicted on two counts of prostitution charges during an eight-week grueling trial in July. However, he was acquitted of the two more serious charges against him, which included sex trafficking and racketeering.

Federal prosecutors were seeking at least 11 years in prison, while Combs’ lawyers were suggesting that he receive less than 14 months (he’s already been jailed for 12 months at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn).

Combs’ defense attorney, Nicole Westmoreland, said the entertainer is remorseful.

“He gets it,” Westmoreland said. “Mr. Combs can reach so many more on the outside than he can on the inside. It is of no benefit to anyone to warehouse him in a prison.”

Combs’ children also addressed the court to speak on their father’s character and to ask for leniency.

Combs reportedly burst into tears as his six adult children claimed he is a “changed man” and that they “still need him present in our lives.”

Combs himself spoke at the sentencing, saying, “I know that I have been changed for the better.”

“I can’t change the past,” he said, “but I can change the future. I ask your honor for mercy. I beg your honor for mercy. I ask your honor for a chance to be a father again… a son again… a leader in my community again… for a chance to get the help that I desperately need to be a better person because I don’t want to let God down, I don’t want to let my family down.”

“I have nobody to blame but myself. I know I’ll never put my hands on another person again. I know that I have learned my lesson,” Combs said. “And I take full accountability and responsibility.”

Combs offered apologies to Cassie Ventura, his ex-girlfriend, for any physical or emotional harm he caused her. “I don’t take that lightly,” he said. Combs was seen in surveillance footage physically assaulting Cassie.

He also apologized to Cassie’s family and to ex “Jane”: “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m sorry I brought you into my mess.”

He then said he was sorry to all victims of domestic violence, saying he knows that the “disgusting, despicable video” of him beating Cassie was triggering for people around the world.

In the end, Combs was sentenced to 4 years and 2 months in prison.

The Associated Press reports:

The judge said a lengthy sentence was needed for deterrence and that he was unconvinced that if Combs is released these crimes won’t happen again.

“I’ve considered the fact that you are a self-made artist and businessman who has innovated, inspired and lifted up communities, including communities of color, worldwide,” the judge said.

Combs’ philanthropy, including building charter schools, is “commendable.” And the creation of the “Free Game with Diddy” curriculum at the Brooklyn jail is praiseworthy, he said.

It’s “especially impressive” given the early trauma of your father’s death, the judge told him.

“Mr. Combs, you’re being sentenced for the offenses of conviction, NOT the crimes he was acquitted of. However, under law, the court ‘shall consider’ the nature of the offense and characteristics of the defendant,” he said.

The judge also cited law which states that no limitation shall be placed on the “background, character and conduct” that a judge can consider

 

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