Sean “Diddy” Combs, once the king of Bad Boy Records and a fixture in hip-hop royalty, just got a hard “no” from a New York federal judge on his bid to walk free before sentencing. Despite beating the most damning charges in his headline-grabbing sex crimes trial, the court has made it clear: Combs isn’t going anywhere until October 3.
In a July 29 motion, Combs’ legal team begged for his release, dangling a \$50 million bond and painting Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center as a dangerous purgatory. Their argument? That others convicted on similar prostitution-related charges had walked free pending sentencing. But the court wasn’t buying it.
In a sharply worded decision, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian said the case against Combs wasn’t just about prostitution—it was about violence, coercion, and domination. And those elements changed everything.
“This might have gone differently,” the judge noted, “if there weren’t evidence of all three.”
Prosecutors, unsurprisingly, weren’t shedding any tears. They emphasized improvements at the jail since Combs’ September 2024 arrest and doubled down on their claim that he poses a risk to the community, pointing to trial testimony describing disturbing scenes of violence.
Combs, now 55, was cleared of the three heaviest counts—sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy—by a jury on July 2. Still, he wasn’t off the hook. He was convicted of two lesser charges related to transporting individuals for prostitution.
At trial, prosecutors painted a sordid picture: drug-fueled marathons of sexual performance, two ex-girlfriends allegedly coerced into so-called “freak-offs” involving male sex workers. The defense fired back, calling the encounters consensual and the accusations exaggerated.
Each of the charges carries a potential 10-year sentence, though federal guidelines suggest a likely maximum of just over five years.
Combs has pleaded not guilty across the board. His seven-week trial captivated the nation—and his next act, a sentencing hearing, promises to be no less dramatic.
But for now, the beat doesn’t go on. It stays locked up in a Brooklyn cell.
