Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs hints he is determined to relaunch his showbiz career
As he awaits sentencing from a New York jail, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has hinted he is determined to relaunch his showbiz career.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has hinted he is determined to relaunch his showbiz career.
The 55-year-old Bad Boy Records founder rapper is languishing in a a New York jail as he faces sentencing for prostitution-related offences after he was acquitted of racketeering and sex trafficking charges that could have sentenced him to life – but he now faces a potential prison term of up to five years.
Marc Agnifilo, Combs’ defence lawyer, has now said about his client’s future: “Those things are way down the road. He’s a man who made something out of nothing once, when he was a much younger man.
“And this situation gives him the chance to make something special out of his life.
“One of the things he tells me – and this is his exact phrase – is, ‘I have more to give.’ He looks at life as a gift he’s been given.”
Combs was arrested last September and has since been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, awaiting sentencing scheduled for 3 October.
He was convicted of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution – for arranging for women and male sex workers to travel to engage in sexual encounters he filmed.
The charges carry a maximum sentence of ten years.
The judge presiding over the trial, Arun Subramanian, denied Combs bail after the verdict, citing Combs’ admitted past violence towards two ex-girlfriends and deeming him a risk to society.
Mr Agnifilo’s recent motion for bail was again rejected, with the judge writing: “Combs failed to satisfy his burden to demonstrate an entitlement to release.”
He added the case involved “evidence of violence, coercion or subjugation in connection with the acts of prostitution at issue”.
Combs’ lawyers have argued for a sentence of between 21 and 27 months, based on federal guidelines, while prosecutors contend he faces four to five years, and possibly more.
Prosecutors cited Combs’ “extensive history of violence – and his continued attempt to minimise his recent violent conduct” as justification for continued detention.
In court filings, Mr Agnifilo insisted: “Sean Combs will not be violent to anyone. As we said in court, this jury gave him his life back, and he will not squander his second chance at life, nor would he do anything to further jeopardise his seven children not having a father, and four of his children not having a parent at all.”
The lawyer added Combs would accept house arrest at his Miami residence with electronic monitoring and private security.
