Sean “Diddy” Combs’s legal team made their push for a 14-month sentence in his prostitution transportation case — which would basically boil down to time served — claiming the hip-hop mogul’s fall from grace was punishment enough. In a 182-page sentencing memo filed early Tuesday, his lawyers claim that Diddy’s time at the infamous Brooklyn federal lockup “has already been extreme” and “the collateral consequences he has experienced far exceed” what others convicted of his charges suffer. Diddy, whom they note was an“altar boy” in his youth, has been saddled by “unspeakable shame and monumental adverse consequences” from ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura’s allegations, raids on his homes, and the trial itself. “Mr. Combs’s celebrity status in the realms of music, fashion, spirits, media, and finance has been shattered and Mr. Combs’s legacy has been destroyed.”
Diddy’s list of losses include a Hulu show about him and his family’s life, “which was going to help his children with interests in acting and television, but that show was canceled soon after Ms. Ventura’s lawsuit.” He was booted from the boards of three charter schools he launched and “stripped of an Honorary Doctorate degree” from Howard University, which said it would return his donations. He was forced to return the key to the city of New York that was previously presented to him by the Mayor.” Not the key to the city!
Diddy was found guilty in July of two counts of transportation for the purposes of prostitution but acquitted of the far more serious sex-trafficking and racketeering counts. Over the course of a bombshell nine-week trial, prosecutors called 34 witnesses to the stand including three women who accused him of abuse, including Cassie. She and another accuser, Jane, claimed that Diddy lured them into his disturbed orbit under the guise of a romantic relationship only to coerce them into drug-fueled sexual acts with male escorts that spanned days. The jury’s verdict meant that they didn’t think he sex-trafficked Cassie and Jane, but that they agreed he broke the law in shuttling prostitutes across state lines for these “Freak Offs.” He also faces a slew of sexual-assault allegations in dozens of lawsuits filed across the country.
Lawyers for Diddy, who copped to him committing domestic violence, also cast him as a champion for women, saying he created job opportunities for them, including “single mothers.” They also claimed that he reeled from a “variety of mental-health conditions” and drug addiction in explaining some of his actions. “Like every addict, his behavior while on painkillers was erratic and unpredictable, and often the reason behind any assaults discussed at the trial.” Another thing thrown against the proverbial wall was a claim that Diddy was just living too hard. “Without minimizing Mr. Combs’s conduct, this is in many ways a ‘sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll’ story. Mr. Combs had severe substance-abuse problems throughout the entirety of the offense conduct and participated in a high-octane celebrity lifestyle.”