Sean “Diddy” Combs appeared to react to the jury reaching a verdict in his sex trafficking and racketeering trial.
In a courtroom sketch obtained by Us Weekly, Diddy, 55, was spotted bending down underneath the table. He appeared to rest his head in his hands as the verdict was read.
News broke on Wednesday, July 2, that Diddy had been found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. The jury found him not guilty on the remaining charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering. Diddy has not been sentenced yet, though each count of transportation carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Diddy was arrested in New York in September 2024 after a grand jury indicted him on charges of transportation, sex trafficking and racketeering. The indictment claimed that he “abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him” in an effort to fulfill “his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct,” with the alleged incidents dating back to 2009.
Diddy’s attorney Marc Agnifilo addressed the arrest in a statement to Us Weekly at the time.
“We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Agnifilo said. “Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children and working to uplift the Black community.”
Agnifilo continued, “He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal. To his credit Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
Diddy subsequently pleaded not guilty to all charges and had continued to deny all the allegations against him.
Diddy’s trial began on May 5. He made several attempts to be released on bail ahead of the trial, but he ultimately dropped his appeal in December 2024, agreeing to remain behind bars in New York until the proceedings began.
Despite making appearances in court in the months after his arrest, Diddy remained out of the public eye since cameras were not allowed inside the courtroom. Following a December 2024 hearing, Law & Crime reporter Elizabeth Millner claimed that Diddy “appeared just astonishingly thinner, which you can expect [from him being] inside a federal detention center for a couple of months now.”
Millner added, “A lot different from the luxury lifestyle that he was living before, but [he] appeared very noticeably thinner and maybe being locked up in detention is starting to weigh on him.”
Shortly after Millner’s remarks made headlines, a source told Us that Diddy was doing well as he awaited trial.
“[He’s] fit, healthy and fully focused on his defense,” the insider said at the time. “He has been very active, remains in good spirits, and, as always, he was happy to see his children.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support. If you or someone you know is a human trafficking victim, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
