By Luc Cohen and Jack Queen NEW YORK (Reuters) -Sean "Diddy" Combs was sentenced on Friday to more than four years in prison over the hip-hop mogul's July 2 conviction on prostitution-related charges. Combs, 55, was convicted 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. Combs pleaded not guilty and is expected to appeal his conviction. Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, 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. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian at a hearing in Manhattan federal court. Prosecutors had pushed for Combs to spend 11-/14 years in prison, while defense lawyers pushed for his swift release. Combs has been behind bars at a Brooklyn jail since his September 16, 2024 arrest. TRIAL CENTERED ON 'FREAK OFFS' Over the course of a two-month trial earlier this year, prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office argued Combs coerced two of his former girlfriends – the rhythm and blues singer Casandra Ventura and a woman known in court by the pseudonym Jane – 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. Combs' lawyers acknowledged he had physically abused his girlfriends, but argued they willingly took part in the sexual performances. Both Ventura and Jane testified that they at times took part consensually because they loved Combs and wanted to please him. COMBS TAUGHT JAIL COURSE Defense lawyers had pushed for a 14-month sentence. In urging leniency, Combs' lawyers said he helped his fellow inmates at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center by teaching a six-week course on business management and personal development called "Free Game with Diddy." As part of the class, inmates were required to write an essay about "lessons learned from Sean 'Diddy' Combs' journey," court filings show. They also argued that Combs' acquittal on the sex trafficking and racketeering charges meant that evidence of his abuse should play no role at sentencing. Prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office argued that federal guidelines call for higher sentences when crimes involve threats or bodily injury. They said other people convicted on prostitution-related offenses involving violence regularly face significant penalties. (Reporting by Luc Cohen and Jack Queen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Nick Zieminski and Bill Berkrot)
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