After seven weeks in a Manhattan federal courtroom, the high-profile sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, one of hip-hop’s most influential figures, has come to a close.
On Wednesday, a jury of 12 New Yorkers found Combs guilty of the Mann Act transportation related to former girlfriends Cassie Ventura and “Jane”, and not guilty of running a criminal enterprise and two counts of sex trafficking.
The verdict, which saw the defense winning three acquittals, marked the end of a trial that has captured global attention and turned the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan into a daily media circus.
Combs, 55, was arrested last September and pleaded not guilty to charges of sex-trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The trial began on 12 May, and ended on 2 July.
Throughout the trial, crowds of reporters, influencers, fans and curious New Yorkers packed the sidewalks outside the federal courthouse building – either to catch a glimpse of some of the star witnesses or vying for one of the limited seats inside.
As no cameras were allowed in the courtroom, journalists, podcasters and online personalities provided daily updates from inside and broke down testimony for the public.
Over the seven weeks, federal prosecutors sought to prove that Combs used his business empire as a “criminal enterprise” for more than two decades, enlisting employees and close associates to help carry out and conceal crimes including sex-trafficking, drug distribution, bribery and kidnapping.
They accused Combs of using power, wealth, influence, violence and threats to coerce women into participating in drug-fueled, days-long sex marathons with male escorts – events he referred to as “freak-offs”.
To support their case, prosecutors presented troves of evidence including text messages, videos and financial records. They called 34 witnesses – from former girlfriends and employees to hotel staff and federal agents – to the stand.
Central to the case were two of Combs’s former girlfriends and alleged sex-trafficking victims, singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, who dated Combs from 2007 to 2018, and “Jane”, a former girlfriend from 2021 to 2024.
Both of the women described being pressured, coerced and at times threatened into participating in the “freak-offs” which they said Combs orchestrated, watched, masturbated to and sometimes filmed.
Two male escorts would later corroborate that and testify that Combs directed the “freak-offs”.
Ventura, who testified while eight months pregnant, described a relationship marked by physical and emotional abuse and control. She alleged that Combs was frequently violent with her, that he raped her after their breakup in 2018, and that he used threats to exert control over her.
Ventura alleged that Combs threatened to release explicit videos of her and cut off financial support or stifle her music career (as she was signed to his label) if she didn’t meet his demands. She said she often used drugs provided by Combs to “dissociate” during the sexual encounters.
Jane testified that she initially agreed to the “freak-offs” to please Combs, but that she later felt trapped and “obligated” to perform – particularly after he began paying her rent. Combs used the rent payments as leverage and also threatened to leak explicit videos of her, dismissing her when she no longer wanted to participate in the “freak-offs”, she said.
She also described a 2024 altercation between her and Combs that left her with a black eye.
Combs has denied all of the allegations against him. His lawyers have insisted that all sexual activity was consensual and acknowledged his past incidents of domestic violence.
His attorneys claim both women were willing participants and cited affectionate, sometimes explicit, text messages between them and Combs. Some texts showed the women expressing enthusiasm for the encounters and others showed that the women helped to organize the events.
Jane testified that she occasionally arranged the encounters herself in an effort to maintain some control over who was involved.
For Ventura’s part, there were multiple witnesses who took the stand and supported her claims.
Several of her friends, along with singer Dawn Richard and some of Combs’s former employees, testified to seeing Combs physically assault Ventura. A celebrity stylist recalled Ventura expressing reluctance about the “freak-offs” to him and said he heard Combs threaten to shelve her music and leak sex tapes.
Ventura’s mother testified that she took out a home equity loan to pay Combs after he allegedly demanded $20,000 “to recoup money he had spent on her because he was unhappy she was in a relationship with Kid Cudi”. She said Combs later sent the money back.
Jurors were shown the 2016 hotel footage of Combs kicking and dragging Ventura in a hotel hallway. A security guard testified that Combs paid him $100,000 for the video, in order to suppress it.
Prosecutors also introduced broader allegations against Combs.
A former personal assistant testifying under the pseudonym “Mia” accused Combs of physically and sexually assaulting her multiple times during her employment, and said that she felt “trapped”.
Defense attorneys suggested she fabricated the allegations, citing social media posts and texts after the alleged assaults in which she is seen praising Combs.
Rapper Scott Mescudi, known as Kid Cudi, who briefly dated Ventura during a break in her and Combs’s relationship, claimed that after Combs learned of their relationship, Combs broke into his home.
Weeks later, Mescudi’s car was firebombed. Mescudi believes that Combs was responsible for that act, but Combs has denied any involvement.
Former employee Capricorn Clark testified that on the morning of the alleged break-in, Combs “kidnapped” her at gunpoint and forced her to accompany him to Mescudi’s home.
She accused Combs of threatening her, subjecting her to lie detector tests, and once pushing her.
The defense disputed Clark’s kidnapping claim, and noted that over the years, Clark had returned to work for Combs multiple times.
Six of Combs’s former personal assistants testified, some under immunity. Several described how they were expected to stock Combs’s hotel rooms with condoms, baby oil, lubricant and illicit drugs, and clean up the rooms afterward.
One said that “protecting” Combs’s image was “very important”. Another recalled Combs once bringing three guns to a potential confrontation with a rival rap executive.
Federal agents who testified recalled discovering unregistered guns, drugs and large amounts of baby oil during raids at Combs’s homes. Additional witnesses included various hotel staff, local law enforcement officers, friends of Ventura, homeland security agents, a psychologist, a makeup artist and other former employees.
Combs’s attorneys repeatedly sought to challenge the credibility of many of the witnesses, often questioning their recollection and the extent of Combs’s control over their decisions.
Midway through the trial a juror was dismissed after claiming that he lived in the Bronx, but later telling a court staff member he lived in New Jersey – rendering him ineligible for the panel.
Combs’s team objected to his removal, noting that he was one of only two Black men on the panel. He was replaced with a white man from Westchester.
Both sides rested on 24 June, with the defense opting not to call any witnesses of its own. Instead, they submitted evidence to the court, and relied on their extensive cross-examinations throughout the trial.
Combs did not testify, but was a constant, active presence in court, often seen whispering to his lawyers and reacting visibly to testimony. At one point, the judge warned that he could be removed for “nodding vigorously” at the jury.
During closing arguments, the government outlined their case against Combs, describing him as “the leader of a criminal enterprise” who refused to “take no for an answer” and as someone who wielded “power, violence and fear to get what he wanted”.
Combs’s attorneys urged the jury to acquit Combs, dismissing the government’s case against Combs as “false” and “exaggerated”. They attempted to frame Ventura and Jane not as victims but as consenting adults.
As the trial has been a global spectacle, some celebrities have entered the discourse surrounding it.
Rapper 50 Cent blasted Combs on social media, while the rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West briefly visited the courthouse to support Combs during the fifth week of trial.
During closing arguments, Ye released a song with one of Combs’s sons titled Diddy Free.
Even Donald Trump was asked about the Combs case, and whether he would consider pardoning Combs if convicted. Trump said that he would have to “look at the facts” as he had not been following the case closely.
Beyond this trial, Combs faces over 30 civil lawsuits, accusing him of sexual assault. He denies all allegations.
