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The music mogul Sean Combs is due to receive sentencing on Friday morning by a US district judge in New York, following his conviction earlier this 2025 on charges related to prostitution.

Here is a summary of his legal proceedings: the charges he faced, what happened at trial, and potential next steps.

What Was He Found Guilty Of?

In July, following a two-month trial, a panel of jurors convicted Combs of two counts of transporting individuals for prostitution. He was acquitted of the most serious charges against him, racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, which carried the possibility of a life imprisonment.

The charges on which he was convicted each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years. Combs had pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.

Judge Arun Subramanian, who oversaw the trial, will hand down the sentence on the scheduled day, with the court session set to start at 10am ET in a federal courthouse in lower Manhattan.

Combs, 55, has been held without bail at the Brooklyn metropolitan detention center since his arrest in the previous September. Since the decision, the judge has rejected multiple bail applications from Combs’s legal team, and recently Subramanian also rejected a motion to set aside the convictions.

What Allegations Was Combs Accused Of?

Federal prosecutors alleged the Bad Boy Records founder of using his power, fame, wealth and influence, and using violence, threats and blackmail, to force former partners into participating in sex parties involving drugs with paid companions. Such sessions were often called by the defendant as “hotel nights”, which prosecutors claimed Combs orchestrated, observed, masturbated to and occasionally recorded.

The government asserted that for more than two decades, Combs operated a illegal operation – assisted by employees and associates – to carry out and hide crimes including sex trafficking, drug distribution, bribery and abduction.

Although found guilty on two charges, Combs has denied wrongdoing. His lawyers have insisted that every encounter was mutually agreed and that no criminal enterprise existed.

What Happened At Trial?

The prosecution called over thirty witnesses, including former partners of Combs – artist Cassie Ventura and another woman who testified under the pseudonym of “Jane” – who described the alleged events in graphic detail, and claimed that Combs coerced and threatened them into taking part.

Ventura was the star prosecution witness. She stated that during her long-term relationship with Combs, he exposed her to various forms of mistreatment and to extortion. The jury was presented with the 2016 hotel surveillance footage of Combs assaulting Ventura in a hallway. Jane also told the court of a physical confrontation with Combs.

Additional testimony included former employees, male escorts, law enforcement agents, hotel employees and public figures including musician Kid Cudi and artist Dawn Richard. Combs chose not to take the stand.

Combs’s legal team admitted past instances of abuse, but disputed that any coercion or sex trafficking took place. They argued that all sexual activity was consensual and part of a “swingers’ lifestyle”, and contended that Ventura and Jane were consenting adults in the encounters.

How Much Time Could He Serve?

Combs’s attorneys have asked the judge for a sentence of no more than 14 months in jail, which, considering time served, would permit his release before the end of the year. They argue that Combs has already been “adequately punished” by serving 13 months in the “terrible conditions” at the facility.

Federal prosecutors, however, have sought at least 135 months (over a decade) and a $500,000 fine. In court filings, they described Combs as “showing no remorse” and said that “his history and characteristics show a pattern of misconduct.

What Statements Were Made By the Victims?

The prosecution filed multiple statements from victims to the court ahead of sentencing, including one from Ventura.

“Although the jurors did not seem to understand or believe that I engaged in freak-offs because of the pressure and intimidation the accused used against me, I know that is the truth, and his sentence should reflect the reality of the testimony and my lived experience as a survivor,” Ventura stated.

“I am so fearful that if he walks free, his first actions will be swift retribution towards me and others who testified about his abuse, at court,” she said.

“If there is one thing I have learned from this experience, it is that victims and survivors will never be safe,” she continued. “I hope that your ruling considers the facts at hand that the jury overlooked.”

What Comes After Sentencing?

Following the court's decision, Combs’s attorneys could appeal against the sentence. Combs’s team is also expected to contest his conviction.

Additionally, Combs faces dozens of civil lawsuits alleging of sexual assault and other misconduct. He has disputed every claim in those proceedings.