Jury reaches Partial verdict in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial



A jury has reached a partial verdict in the sex trafficking trial of Sean Diddy Combs but remains deadlocked on the most serious charge racketeering. in a note to Judge Arun Subramanian, jurors said they had agreed on verdicts for counts 2, 3, 4, and 5, but could not reach a consensus on count 1, the racketeering charge. We have jurors with unpersuadable opinions on both sides, the note read. The judge instructed the jury to continue deliberations on racketeering but dismissed them for the day, asking them to return Wednesday. Count one accuses Combs of leading a criminal organization that forced women into coercive sex marathons with escorts. It carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Alongside racketeering, Combs faces two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of transportation for prostitution. The case gained momentum after Combss former partner of 11 years, singer Cassie Ventura, filed a civil lawsuit accusing him of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. Though settled for $20 million, it sparked a wave of similar lawsuits and ultimately criminal charges. The seven-week trial featured unsettling testimony. Two women described being pressured into lurid sex parties, while former employees recounted violent outbursts. Thousands of phone, financial, and audiovisual records were also submitted. Prosecutors argue that Combs ran a criminal enterprise, supported by senior employees who enforced his power through forced labor, drug distribution, kidnapping, bribery, witness tampering, and arson. However, defense attorney Marc Agnifilo pointed out that none of these employees testified against Combs or were named as co-conspirators. Many witnesses received immunity to testify. To convict on racketeering, jurors must unanimously find that Combs agreed with others to commit at least two of the eight underlying crimes. Combs is specifically charged with sex trafficking Ventura and another woman who testified under the pseudonym Jane. Both women, who had long-term relationships with Combs, detailed abuse, threats, and coercion. While the defense acknowledged that Combs sometimes assaulted his partners, they argued it did not amount to sex trafficking or racketeering. Agnifilo portrayed Combs as a self-made, successful Black entrepreneur with complex but consensual relationships. He challenged the credibility of Ventura and Jane, framing them as adults making free choices. In closing arguments, prosecutors accused the defense of twisting facts. By the time he committed his clearest-cut offenses, he was so far past the line he couldnt even see it, said prosecutor Maurene Comey. The defendant never thought the women he abused would have the courage to speak out. That ends in this courtroom. The defendant is not a god. 

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