Diddy Seeks Acquittal or New Trial on Prostitution Convictions: ‘Combs, At Most, Paid to Engage in Voyeurism As Part of a ‘Swingers’ Lifestyle’

Weeks after beating the most serious federal charges against him, Sean “Diddy” Combs is officially challenging the jury’s guilty verdict on two prostitution counts.

Diddy and his legal team submitted that challenge yesterday, still less than one month removed from the mentioned verdict. As we reported then, following a marathon trial and a multitude of headlines, a jury found the 55-year-old not guilty on charges including sex trafficking by force.

Nevertheless, this jury did find him guilty on two prostitution counts under the Mann Act – one relating to his ex-partner Cassie Ventura, another to a Jane Doe victim. The prosecution has made clear plans to seek prison time, and the convictions technically each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years behind bars.

Bearing in mind Diddy’s courtroom momentum and the possible sentence length, the disgraced mogul is pulling out all the stops in an effort to overturn the verdict – or, alternatively, receive a new trial.

As described by Team Diddy, the Mann Act’s application here – concerning the defendant’s allegedly arranging “for a long-time girlfriend or a paid male escort or entertainer to travel across state lines to get together and have sex” – is “unprecedented.”

“To our knowledge,” Diddy attorneys wrote, “Mr. Combs is the only person ever convicted of violating the statute for conduct anything like this. It is undisputed that he had no commercial motive and that all involved were adults.

“The men chose to travel and engage in the activity voluntarily. The verdict confirms the women were not vulnerable or exploited or trafficked or sexually assaulted during the freak-offs or hotel nights. And Mr. Combs never had sex with the supposed ‘prostitutes,’” they continued.

Building on the latter point, Diddy doubled down and claimed he’d “at most, paid to engage in voyeurism as part of a ‘swingers’ lifestyle” – an alleged action that purportedly fails to constitute prostitution as legally defined.

Next, even if the alleged action does amount to prostitution, there was more to the ill-advised outings than straight sex, Diddy and his team maintained.

“The proof at trial showed that he typically hired the services of male escorts or dancers advertised openly through lawful businesses, that the men were paid for their time, and that they enjoyed the activities and had friendships with Ms. Ventura and Jane and were not merely traveling to have sex for money,” they stated.

Not stopping there, the former Revolt stakeholder provided a First Amendment defense because he’d “typically videotaped” the sordid sessions in question.

“The freak-offs and hotel nights were performances that he or his girlfriends typically videotaped so they could watch them later,” Diddy and his counsel spelled out. “In other words, he was producing amateur pornography for later private viewing.”

Time will, of course, tell whether the court agrees to acquit Diddy or arrange a new trial on the two relevant charges. For now, the New York City native remains behind bars ahead of his October 3rd sentencing – though the comeback wheels may already be in motion.