Entertainment
Prosecutors want Sean “Diddy” Combs to get more than 11 years in prison
New York — Prosecutors urged a New York federal judge Tuesday to send Sean “Diddy” Combs to prison for over 11 years following his conviction on prostitution-related charges, citing one of his accusers who said she lives in fear of the music mogul’s release from detention.
“His crimes of conviction are serious and have warranted sentences over ten years in multiple cases for defendants who, like Sean Combs, engaged in violence and put others in fear,” they wrote in a presentence submission requesting at least 11 years and three months in prison.
They filed their sentencing recommendation shortly after midnight, including letters from some of his accusers describing how his violence and demands had impacted their lives.
Prosecutors called Combs “unrepentant” and said Combs had conceded his acts of violence and abuse throughout his trial but “incredibly … he now argues that his victims should shoulder the blame.”
Combs, 55, has remained jailed since his July conviction on charges related to arranging male sex workers to travel to hotels or residences where he directed them to have sex with his girlfriends.
The elaborate dayslong, drug-fueled sexual events were often filmed by Combs. Defense attorneys have asked that he be sentenced to no more than 14 months in prison. Sentencing is set for Friday. The music mogul had pleaded not guilty to all of the charges brought against him.
In July, Combs was convicted of two charges for violating the Mann Act, which outlaws interstate commerce related to prostitution, for arranging the paid sexual encounters between his girlfriends and male sex workers. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The same jury acquitted the Bad Boy Records founder of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges that could have resulted in a life sentence.
Last week, the defense submitted its presentence arguments, saying Combs has suffered enough during his nearly 13 months behind bars and that he should be freed soon.
Jane Rosenberg / REUTERS
They wrote that he became a changed man in a Brooklyn federal lockup, where he has been under constant suicide watch and learned to react calmly rather than violently to threats, even when a fellow inmate confronted him with a shiv.
They said Combs has realized that his overuse of drugs, including some prescribed by doctors, had contributed to violent acts he participated in.
Prosecutors said Combs was now trying to cast himself as a victim.
“He is not the victim,” they wrote. “The Court should focus on the very real effects that the defendant’s conduct had on the lives of the actual victims, his victims.”
At trial, two of Combs’ former girlfriends testified that they felt forced to participate in the drug-fueled sex marathons with male sex workers as Combs watched and sometimes filmed.
Ex-girlfriends tell court about treatment by Coombs
R&B singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura described being beaten by Combs when she displeased him during their decadelong relationship. Another ex-girlfriend, testifying under the pseudonym “Jane,” said she felt pressured to perform sexually with male sex workers. She testified that an enraged Combs once put her in a chokehold and punched her in the face.
In a letter accompanying the prosecutors’ submission, Cassie wrote that she testified while nine months pregnant during Combs’ trial “in front of a packed courtroom about the most traumatic and horrifying chapter in my life. I testified that from age nineteen, Sean Combs used violence, threats, substances, and control over my career to trap me in over a decade of abuse.”
Cassie wrote that Combs controlled her like a puppet.
“These events were degrading and disgusting, leaving me with infections, illnesses, and days of physical and emotional exhaustion before he demanded it all again. Sex acts became my full-time job, used as the only way to stay in his good graces,” she said.
Cassie said she still has nightmares and flashbacks on an everyday basis and requires psychological care to cope.
“My worries that Sean Combs or his associates will come after me and my family is my reality. I have in fact moved my family out of the New York area and am keeping as private and quiet as I possibly can because I am so scared that if he walks free, his first actions will be swift retribution towards me and others who spoke up about his abuse at trial,” Cassie said.
The AP does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie has.
In an indictment, prosecutors asserted that Combs used his fame, wealth and violence to force and manipulate Cassie and Jane, now-ex-girlfriends, into the sexual performances he called “freak-offs” or “hotel nights.”
Judge Arun Subramanian has signaled that he is leaning toward a substantial amount of prison time, twice refusing to grant bail since the jury returned its verdict, citing Combs’ history of violence.
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Billy Bob Thornton opens up about fear of aging
Billy Bob Thornton wasn’t really happy about turning 70.
Billy celebrated his milestone 70th birthday in August.
He opened up about aging in a new interview with CBS News’ Sunday Morning, sharing that it was scary.
“You know what, it’s so funny you’re scared of every milestone. But this one actually did affect me in a way that I had to, you know, have a few meetings with myself late at night,” said Thornton.
Ultimately, the Oscar winner focused on the positive aspects of aging, such as gaining respect.
“We’ve all seen each other get older. And when I see that wisdom and see the respect that people have for them, it just kind of makes everything melt away somehow,” he said. “I mean, I’m in a successful band and I’m in a successful show. Every day when I wake up I just say I’m blessed. That’s really it.”
For his milestone birthday, the Landman star stayed at home with his kids and wife Connie Angland and enjoyed some vegan cake.
“Connie asked me what I wanted and I said, ‘Nothing, absolutely nothing. As a matter of fact, don’t mention it to anybody,’ ” he told Rolling Stone in another recent interview.
“We really just hung out here at the house, just me and Connie and the kids,” Billy said, “and had a nice time, and they got me a vegan cake, which — I can’t eat wheat or dairy, so that was awesome. Anytime a guy like me could have cake, it’s a great day.”
Billy Bob Thornton will be seen in season two of Landman.
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