Diddy lawyers escort defense tactic

Photo Credit: M Shiva

Diddy’s lawyers hope testimony from some of his former escorts will aid in his quest for leniency during his October 3 sentencing.

Sean “Diddy” Combs and his legal team are hoping for help from an unlikely source in their quest for leniency during his sentencing next month on two counts of prostitution. His legal team intends to submit a brief to the judge featuring testimony from some of the dozens of escorts Combs hired for so-called “freak-offs”—men the prosecutors are counting as victims.

“We plan to summarize these individuals’ accounts to the government for the court,” the defense told U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian in a filing last week.

They argue that some of these men gave prosecutors interviews previously unrevealed to the public that could actually help the defense. Meanwhile, federal prosecutors want any pre-sentencing arguments relating to these interviews to remain sealed from the public.

“Statements of non-testifying witnesses are traditionally considered nonpublic,” prosecutors wrote, asking the judge to count these escorts as victims at the sentencing scheduled for October 3.

Combs’ legal team argues that none of the escorts are victims, and details from their pretrial prosecution interviews should not be sealed or even partially redacted.

“The government has taken the view that several consenting male ‘entertainers’ who willingly consented to sexual activity with Ms. Ventura and Jane [Doe] are now victims,” Combs’ attorneys wrote earlier this month. “These individuals did not testify, and we plan to summarize these individuals’ accounts to the government for the court.”

Combs’ trial lasted six weeks and ended on July 2. The rap mogul was found not guilty of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges, and convicted of two lesser counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced next month, but experts say it will be far less. Prosecutors have said they will seek at least five years in prison.

Combs has been behind bars since his arrest in September 2024, having been denied several requests for bail.