By Luc Cohen and Jack Queen NEW YORK (Reuters) -Sean "Diddy" Combs' children urged leniency for their father at the hip-hop mogul's sentencing over prostitution charges on Friday, telling a judge that he has become a better man in the year since his arrest on sex crimes charges. "We aren't here to excuse any of his mistakes," Combs' 18-year-old daughter Jessie Combs said through tears. "But your honor, he is still our dad, and we still need him present in our lives." A jury on July 2 convicted Combs, 55, on two counts of arranging for paid male escorts to travel across state lines to take part in drug-fueled sexual performances – sometimes known as "Freak Offs" – with Combs' girlfriends while he recorded video and masturbated. The jury acquitted him on the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking, which could have earned him a life sentence. Those charges hinged on prosecutors' accusation that Combs used violence and threats to coerce his girlfriends to take part in the encounters. Addressing U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, Jessie's twin sister D'Lila Combs said she and her siblings were scared about being without their father after the 2018 death of their mother, the actress and model Kim Porter. "We've already lost so much," she said. "Please, your honor, please, give our family the chance to heal together." Combs put his head down as his children spoke, and had tears in his eyes when their remarks concluded. Subramanian thanked them. After the children spoke, his lawyers showed the court a video about Combs' background and philanthropy. The video showed Combs playing with his children, speaking to public school students, and running the New York Marathon to raise money for charity. COMBS FACES UP TO 20 YEARS Combs, who has been behind bars at a Brooklyn jail since his September 2024 arrest, is expected to address the court later on Friday. He faces up to 20 years in prison, though the judge has wide discretion in crafting a punishment. Defense lawyers say the appropriate sentence is 14 months, which would mean Combs would be released by the end of the year after receiving credit for time served. Prosecutors are pushing for a sentence of at least 11-1/4 years. Earlier on Friday, prosecutor Christy Slavik said the defense was improperly seeking to portray Combs' conduct as a "minor consequence of a sex, drugs, and rock and roll lifestyle," and argued the judge should consider his abuse of his girlfriends. "To not account for it now would be to let the defendant get away with years of domestic violence and abuse," Slavik said. Combs' lawyers acknowledged he had physically abused his girlfriends, but argued they willingly took part in the sexual performances. In a four-page letter to Subramanian, filed with the court on Thursday, Combs apologized "for all the hurt and pain that I caused others by my conduct," and asked the judge for mercy, saying, "I lost my way." Subramanian acknowledged that Combs had expressed remorse for some of his conduct, but said he had not apologized for the prostitution offenses at the heart of the conviction. Slavik also said Combs' apparent belief that he would not be handed a significant sentence showed he did not understand the seriousness of his conduct. She pointed to a September 29 letter written by the director of a nonprofit, filed with the court by Combs' lawyers, indicating that Combs had planned speaking engagements starting next week. Jason Driscoll, one of Combs' lawyers, said a stiff sentence would be inconsistent with other defendants convicted of transportation to engage in prostitution. Driscoll said many of those cases involved pimps who preyed on vulnerable women, and noted that Combs did not make money off the conduct at issue in his criminal case. TRIAL CENTERED ON 'FREAK OFFS' Combs pleaded not guilty and is expected to appeal his conviction after sentencing. The founder of Bad Boy Records, Combs is credited with elevating hip-hop's stature in American culture. The New York-born entrepreneur is one of the most prominent men in the entertainment industry to have faced trial on sex crimes charges. Over the course of a two-month trial earlier this year, jurors heard testimony from two of Combs' former girlfriends – the rhythm-and-blues singer Casandra Ventura and a woman known in court by the pseudonym Jane. Both said he coerced them into partaking in the performances through violence and threats to withhold financial support. Jurors saw surveillance footage of Combs kicking and dragging Ventura in a hotel hallway in 2016, an incident she testified took place after a Freak Off. Jane testified that Combs last year attacked her and told her to perform oral sex on a male escort after she said she did not want to. Both Ventura and Jane also testified that they at times took part consensually because they loved Combs and wanted to please him. (Reporting by Luc Cohen and Jack Queen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Nick Zieminski and Bill Berkrot)
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