"For present purposes, the defendant is unable to meet his burden to show by clear and convincing evidence a lack of danger to any person or the community," U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian said in court. Per the judge’s ruling, Diddy will remain in custody at a federal detention center in New York City while he awaits sentencing. Sentencing is set to take place this fall, October 3rd, unless Diddy’s legal team seeks to expedite it.

DIDDY CHARGES AND VERDICTS

1st Count

Charge: Racketeering Conspiracy

Max Sentence: Life in Prison

Verdict: Not guilty

2nd Count

Charge: Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud or Coercion

Max Sentence: Life in prison

Verdict: Not Guilty

3rd Count

Charge: Transportation to Engage in Prostitution

Max Sentence:10 years

Verdict: Guilty

4th Count

Charge: Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud or Coercion

Max Sentence: Life in prison

Verdict: Not Guilty

5th Count

Charge: Transportation to Engage in Prostitution

Max Sentence:10 years

Verdict: Not Guilty

Diddy is convicted of transportation for sex trafficking under the Mann Act, an anti-sex trafficking federal law. While the Mann Act has roots in racism and was historically used to prosecute interracial relationships, amendments in the 1980s limited its application to the transport of adults and minors for the purpose of illegal sexual activity (e.g. prostitution). In February, Diddy’s legal team pushed back on the Mann Act charges, alleging that the prosecution was racially biased, citing, “What was racist in its inception has often been racist in its operation.” The two charges mean that Diddy could face up to 20 years in prison.

RACKETEERING

Racketeering is a type of organized crime, meaning engaging in an illegal scheme in order to collect a profit. It is not a specific crime or single criminal act, but a broad category to describe a variety of crimes. A law designed to combat organized crime, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, makes it a crime for someone to belong to an “enterprise” involved in a pattern of racketeering. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, in order to convict someone of racketeering, the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt:

1. An organized group (enterprise) existed

2. The enterprise affected interstate commerce

3. The defendant was associated with the enterprise

4. The defendant committed a pattern of racketeering (At least two related crimes within 10 years)

5. Those crimes helped the enterprise operate

SEX TRAFFICKING OPERATION

For Diddy, federal prosecutors alleged that the organized crime in his case was the orchestration of a sex trafficking operation, which included drugging and coercing victims into sex acts during “Freak Off Parties.”

Over 34 witnesses were brought to testify over the last seven weeks while Diddy’s legal team declined to call any witnesses of their own. Instead, the defense focused on cross-examining and discrediting witnesses.

Cassie Ventura, one of the prosecution’s star witnesses, met Diddy in 2005. From 2007 to 2018, she survived years of a coercive relationship she later described as “oppressive.” In one piece of evidence, Ventura testified that Diddy assaulted her in a 2016 attack, when she attempted to leave a hotel during one of his known “freak offs”. The assault was captured on hotel surveillance footage. Multiple witnesses testified to witnessing Diddy physically abusing Ventura throughout their relationship.

It was at these “freak offs” where Diddy allegedly drugged victims and pressured them to perform sex acts. Some of the ways victims felt pressured were from extensive physical/mental abuse and financial dependency. Ventura and another ex-girlfriend, Jane, detailed instances where Diddy threatened to release sex footage if they did not comply with him.

Why Current Evidence Wasn’t Enough for Racketeering and Sex Trafficking Charges?

Ultimately, Diddy’s defense alleged that his victims acted of their own volition. Per the jury’s final verdict, they concluded that there was not enough evidence to prove coercion or force. There are numerous speculations for why.

From the Times of India, “The split verdict suggests the jury believed some of the women’s accounts but did not find that the government proved coercion beyond reasonable doubt.”

On USA Today, “The Trafficking Victims Protection Act wasn’t designed to handle domestic abuse or intimate partner exploitation.”

And from the 19th News, a quote from civil rights attorney and legal commentary, Areva Martin, “The verdict and the public reaction indicates that the public's awareness of sex trafficking may need to be refined. All too often, people envision a sex-trafficked woman as one who was abducted from her small town and forced to have sex with strangers," Martin said. "But sex trafficking doesn't always look like that. There was persuasive evidence that Combs coerced Ventura and Jane into freak-offs but said that society has a hard time grasping that someone in a relationship can be coerced into sexual acts by a partner.”

Sex trafficking is notoriously difficult to prosecute, especially against wealthy defendants like Diddy, who have access to vast resources. Transportation for sex trafficking, however, can be easier to prove, even if coercion isn’t explicitly documented. In the Mann Act, coercion and force are not necessary criteria, there just has to be proof of transportation to engage in prostitution. To the jury, it was the difference between facilitating travel for sex acts and running an entire sex trafficking ring. In the end, they believed Diddy did not fit the bill for a sex trafficker. This high profile case could very well be the spark the public needs to get new legislation going.