Sean “Diddy” Combs cannot go residence from jail to await sentencing on his prostitution-related conviction, a decide stated Monday, denying the rap and magnificence mogul’s newest bid for bail.
Combs has been behind bars since his September arrest. He confronted federal prices of coercing girlfriends into having drug-fueled intercourse marathons with male intercourse employees whereas he watched and filmed them.
He was acquitted final month of the highest prices — racketeering and intercourse trafficking — whereas being convicted of two counts of a prostitution-related offense.
In denying Combs’ $50 million bond proposal, Judge Arun Subramanian stated the hip hop impresario hadn’t confirmed that he didn’t pose a flight danger or hazard, nor proven an “exceptional circumstance” that will justify his launch after a conviction that in any other case requires detention.
Combs’ arguments “might have traction in a case that didn’t involve evidence of violence, coercion or subjugation in connection with the acts of prostitution at issue, but the record here contains evidence of all three,” the decide wrote.
Prosecutors declined to touch upon the ruling. Messages searching for remark had been despatched to Combs’ legal professionals.
The conviction carries the potential for as much as 10 years in jail. But there are difficult federal pointers for calculating sentences in any given case, and prosecutors and Combs’ legal professionals disagree considerably on how the rules come out for his case.
The pointers aren’t necessary, and Subramanian could have broad latitude in deciding Combs’ punishment.
The Bad Boy Records founder, now 55, was for many years a protean determine in popular culture. A Grammy-winning hip hop artist and entrepreneur with a aptitude for locating and launching massive skills, he presided over a enterprise empire that ranged from style to actuality TV.
Prosecutors claimed he used his fame, wealth and violence to power and manipulate two now-ex-girlfriends into days-long, drugged-up sexual performances he known as “freak-offs” or “hotel nights.”
During the trial, 4 girls testified that Combs had overwhelmed or sexually assaulted them. Jurors additionally watched video of Combs hurling considered one of his former girlfriends, R&B singer Cassie, to the ground, repeatedly kicking her after which and dragging her down a resort hallway.
His legal professionals argued that the federal government tried to criminalize consensual, if unconventional, sexual tastes that performed out in difficult relationships. The protection acknowledged that Combs had violent outbursts however stated nothing he did got here amounted to the crimes with which he was charged.
Since the decision, his legal professionals have repeatedly renewed their efforts to get him out on bail till his sentencing, set for October. They have argued that the acquittals undercut the rationale for holding him, they usually have pointed to different individuals who had been launched earlier than sentencing on related convictions.
Defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo recommended in a court docket submitting that Combs was the United States’ “only person in jail for hiring adult male escorts for him and his girlfriend.”
Agnifilo additionally raised issues about squalor and hazard on the Metropolitan Detention Center, the infamous federal lockup the place Combs is being held. The decide wrote Monday that these circumstances had been a “serious” consideration, however he stated Combs hadn’t proven that distinctive circumstances –- equivalent to superior age or medical points –- would warrant his launch.
The protection’s most up-to-date proposal included the $50 million bond, plus journey restrictions, and expressed openness to including on home arrest at his Miami residence, digital monitoring, personal safety guards and different necessities.
Prosecutors opposed releasing Combs. They wrote that his “intensive historical past of violence — and his continued try to attenuate his current violent conduct — demonstrates his dangerousness.”
Associated Press author Jake Offenhartz contributed from Los Angeles.
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