Diddy’s Family Pleads for Mercy as Sentencing Looms

Sean 'Diddy' Combs faces a possible maximum 20-year federal prison sentence after family members urged mercy in letters filed ahead of his October sentencing hearing.

He is charged with two felony counts of transportation to engage in prostitution in connection with Cassie Ventura and a second woman referred to as 'Jane.' A jury found him not guilty of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion in the same case, and prosecutors have pursued the remaining counts. Combs’s defense lawyers have asked the court to impose a 14-month sentence with supervised release, along with mandatory drug treatment, therapy and group counseling, arguing that his career and reputation have been damaged and that he has already served more than a year in custody.

In letters filed with U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, Janice Combs, 84, described the past year as extremely painful for herself and Sean’s children and asked the judge to allow him to be part of their lives again. She wrote that the separation has been 'extremely difficult and painful' and that she would like to spend the last years of her life with her son, noting that he has 'made some terrible mistakes in his life, which I know he recognizes.' She also asked that he help his children heal from the loss of their mother, Kim Porter, and the sleepless nights they have faced since his incarceration.

Diddy’s sister, Keisha Combs, said that her brother 'made mistakes — serious ones,' and that his 'struggles with addiction clouded his judgment and led him away from his true path: a champion in uplifting our black and brown children and communities.'

'I know he has made mistakes, and I do not deny that,' the mogul’s son Justin Combs wrote to the judge. 'But I refuse to let those mistakes erase the truth of who he is: a loving, present father who has instilled in me and my siblings the importance of respect, of honoring women, and of standing tall in the face of adversity.'

Ventura’s attorneys declined to comment on the family’s letters when reached by HuffPost.

The case has drawn public scrutiny since Ventura, a former girlfriend, filed a 2023 lawsuit accusing Combs of rape, coercion and physical abuse. Federal agents arrested him last year and charged him with various sex-crime offenses tied to the two women. A jury acquitted him of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, while convicting on other counts, according to filings. Prosecutors allege that Combs used his wealth and influence to facilitate prostitution, though the precise charges in this portion of the case center on transportation to engage in prostitution.

The sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 3 before U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian.