A Manhattan judge denied Sean Diddy Combs’ most recent bail request on Monday, ordering him to stay in detention until his sentencing for prostitution violations.
In his request to be released ahead of his sentencing on October 3 on a $50 million bond secured by his Miami, Florida, home, Combs failed to demonstrate that he did not represent a risk of flight or a danger to the community, according to Federal Judge Arun Subramanian.
Since his arrest in September, the rapper has been detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Subramanian stated, “Combs fails to meet his burden by clear and convincing evidence.” Given the facts and the significant burden of proof that Combs has, increasing the bond’s size or creating new conditions has no bearing on the calculus.
Combs, 55, was convicted on July 2 of two counts of violating the federal Mann Act by transporting individuals for prostitution, each of which carries a possible 10-year prison sentence.
The hip-hop mogul was exonerated of accusations of racketeering and sex trafficking, which carried a potential life sentence. Last week, prosecutors announced they will seek a significantly longer sentence than the four to five years that federal guidelines recommended Combs spend.
Combs was the only John being detained in a U.S. prison for paying male escorts for him and his girlfriends, according to the rap mogul’s most recent bail application, which claimed that the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office had misapplied the Mann Act allegations and criminalized an innocent swinger lifestyle.
His attorneys argued that the vile, so-called freak off sessions, in which jurors learned that he instructed male actors to execute sex acts with his companions, typically while he watched, masturbated, and recorded, were the same as amateur pornography intended for private use.
Prosecutors reacted to that portrayal on Friday, claiming Combs was not your typical John but rather an openly aggressive individual who hosted dehumanizing sex parties where guests were beaten and drugged. They said that the Bail Reform Act made it very evident that his imprisonment was required to continue.
In a case where there was no proof of violence, coercion, or subordination in relation to the prostitution in question, Combs’ Mann Act claims could have merit, but the judge’s order from Monday stated that the record here included proof of all three.
The judge refused to release Combs after he was found guilty but exonerated of the more serious charges, citing confessions made by his attorneys throughout the trial regarding his history of assaulting women. They had maintained that he was not charged with any of these offenses and that the beating evidence was unrelated to the indictment’s allegations.
Requests for comment were not immediately answered by Combs’ attorneys and representatives.
