NEW YORK — A jury in the high-profile sex trafficking trial of music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has delivered a partial verdict but remains deadlocked on the most serious count — racketeering — which carries a possible life sentence.
In a note to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian on Tuesday, jurors said they had reached unanimous decisions on counts 2 through 5 but were divided on the racketeering charge. “We have jurors with unpersuadable opinions on both sides,” the note read.
Judge Subramanian instructed the panel to continue deliberating on the racketeering count but dismissed them for the day, asking them to return on Wednesday.
Count One: The Racketeering Dilemma
Count one accuses Combs of operating a criminal enterprise that trafficked women for sex, using coercion, intimidation, and force. Prosecutors allege the enterprise involved senior employees who assisted in sex trafficking, drug distribution, bribery, arson, kidnapping, and witness tampering.
To convict Combs of racketeering, jurors must unanimously agree that he conspired with others to commit at least two of eight predicate crimes. It is the charge that underpins the government’s narrative of Combs as the leader of a calculated and exploitative organization.
What the Jury Did Decide
Jurors have reportedly agreed on verdicts for:
Two counts of sex trafficking
Two counts of transportation for prostitution
However, the content of those verdicts remains sealed until the racketeering charge is resolved.
Case Sparked by Cassie’s Lawsuit
The criminal case gained traction after singer Cassie Ventura, Combs’s former partner of over a decade, filed a civil suit accusing him of prolonged physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. Though the suit was settled out of court for $20 million, it triggered a series of similar allegations and ultimately led to the federal charges.
Disturbing Testimonies and Evidence
Over the course of seven weeks, the courtroom heard harrowing testimony:
Two women, including one using the pseudonym Jane, alleged they were forced into humiliating sex parties.
Former employees described violent outbursts and controlling behavior.
Prosecutors presented thousands of phone records, financial statements, and surveillance footage to support their claims.
The Defense: Consent, Not Coercion
Combs's attorney, Marc Agnifilo, painted a starkly different picture. While acknowledging that Combs may have assaulted his partners at times, he argued those actions didn’t amount to sex trafficking or organized crime.
“He’s a self-made, successful Black entrepreneur,” Agnifilo told jurors, insisting that the relationships were complex but ultimately consensual.
The defense also challenged the credibility of Ventura and Jane, arguing they were adults making choices and highlighting that no alleged co-conspirators were named or testified.
Prosecutors: “He Thought They’d Never Speak Out”
In closing arguments, lead prosecutor Maurene Comey accused Combs of believing he was above the law.
“By the time he committed his clearest-cut offenses, he was so far past the line he couldn’t even see it,” Comey said. “The defendant never thought the women he abused would have the courage to speak out. That ends in this courtroom. The defendant is not a god.”
As the jury returns for further deliberations, the outcome of the racketeering charge could determine whether Combs faces decades behind bars — or walks away from the most serious accusations of his career.
