Diddy escaped some of the more heavy charges against him during his federal trial last year, but the court still convicted him on two counts of violating the Mann Act and transporting individuals across state lines for prostitution purposes. Now, federal prosecutors are hoping to quell his appeal attempt by arguing against the defense team's strategy regarding this conviction.
According to an exclusive AllHipHop report from Grouchy Greg Watkins, prosecutors' new appellate brief this week fought back against defense attorneys' reported claims that Sean Combs was more of an amateur adult film producer than he was a significant player in a prostitution scheme. Prosecutors blasted this strategy, arguing that testimony showed how he directly connected threats to travel circumstances and sex work.
They brought up Combs' alleged threats to Cassie Ventura during a France-New York flight. These include intimate video leaks and demands to participate in "freak-off" parties upon landing. Prosecutors also pointed to the anonymous woman identified as "Jane," whom he allegedly threatened with homelessness after she expressed a desire to stop participating in "hotel nights." The Bad Boy mogul allegedly arranged transport for an escort from Las Vegas to Los Angeles after these threats.
"In both cases, Diddy’s threats occurred during or immediately preceding the act of transportation and helped establish his intent that the victim would engage in prostitution," prosecutors reportedly argued in their filing. In addition, they dismantled the defense's "film producer" argument by arguing that he didn't notify of filming in advance and did not gain consent for recording.
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How Long Is Diddy's Sentence?
One escort reportedly testified that Puff would make folks feel "humiliated" and "degraded" by keeping recordings of sexual encounters (recordings which he only set up once or twice) without permission. Prosecutors also pointed to his alleged participation in these parties via masturbation, pointing to the intent of "immediate sexual gratification" rather than commercial gain.
On the other hand, Diddy's defense team's appeal arguments rest on the accusation that Judge Arun Subramanian acted like a "13th juror" by sentencing him to 50 months behind bars based on behavior tied to charges that the jury acquitted him of. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit will have oral arguments from both sides of this appeal on April 9 in Manhattan.
As far as what could happen, the appellate judges could uphold the sentence and conviction, reverse it, or remand to lower courts. This is also an expedited appeal process due to the length of the sentence, so this could pass by very quickly.
