‘We heard you’: Judge addresses victims after handing Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs a 4-year sentence

Content warning: This story depicts details of physical and psychological abuse.

A federal judge sentenced music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs on Friday to 50 months in prison — just over four years — marking an end to a trial against one of the most influential names in entertainment. Combs must also pay a $500,000 fine.

“To Ms. Ventura and the other brave survivors that came forward, I want to say first: We heard you,” Judge Arun Subramanian said after he pronounced the sentence.

Prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office sought an 11-year sentence for Combs to “reflect the substantial psychological, emotional, and physical damage he has inflicted.” Each of Combs’ two charges carried a maximum sentence of 10 years. Combs’ defense team linked his violence to a history of drug addiction and “untreated trauma” from his past, in requesting that the judge sentence him to no more than 14 months.

In his sentencing, Judge Arun Subramanian said the charges against Combs warrant a substantial sentence “to send a message to abusers and victims alike that exploitation and violence against women is met with real accountability.” He also said that a sentence of 11 years “is not reasonable.”

Combs was convicted in July of two counts of transporting people across state lines for the purposes of prostitution. The jury acquitted him of the most serious charges; he was found not guilty of two counts of sex trafficking and one count of racketeering. 

In court filings and testimony over the course of the trial, Combs’ victims — both women and men — described being the targets of physical beatings, sexual coercion and professional retaliation. Singer Cassie Ventura Fine, one of the most visible faces of the trial, detailed being forced to participate in “freak offs,” during which Combs forced her to have sex with male escorts while she was under the influence of drugs. She first met Combs when she was 19 years old and he was 36 years old.

“During my time with Combs, I was in a constant state of hypervigilance, as I was always anticipating demands for sex acts or otherwise fearing retribution for any perceived slight,” Fine said in a victim impact statement filed Tuesday. “My descent into substance abuse was directly correlated with his increased control over my body, my money, my freedom, and my free will. I used those drugs to push through the horrifying sex acts he demanded and to numb myself to the physical pain and emotional turmoil I was constantly in.”

In the impact statements, Combs’ victims expressed concern that a light sentence would free him from taking accountability and would send a larger message tolerating this kind of violence.

“I do not expect him to be in jail forever, but I am praying for a sentence that allows victims to heal and encourages Mr. Combs to genuinely change,” wrote Combs’ former stylist Deonte’ Nash. “Judge, this is not a good man.”

Combs is the third major criminal conviction of an influential man in the entertainment world since 2020. Singer R. Kelly was convicted in 2021 for racketeering and sex trafficking, and in 2022 for child pornography. He is serving a combined sentence of 31 years in federal prison. Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was first convicted of rape and a criminal sex act in New York, which was overturned in 2024 and retried — leading to another conviction this year. A separate conviction in Los Angeles for sexual assault and rape still stands. Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in prison for the Los Angeles charges in 2022.

In recent years, advocates for survivors of sexual assault have noted a cultural backlash against the #MeToo era that sought to hold powerful abusers accountable. His lawyer confirmed to CNN in August that her team has reached out to the Trump administration about a potential pardon following the conviction.

Here are excerpts from four of the victim statements filed ahead of Combs’ sentencing:

Cassie Ventura Fine

Singer and Combs’ ex-girlfriend

“While the defense attorneys at trial suggested that my time with Combs was akin to a ‘great modern love story,’ nothing could be further from the truth. Nothing about this story is great, modern, or loving—this was a horrific decade of my life stained by abuse, violence, forced sex and degradation.

I spent the last seven years of my life slowly rebuilding myself—physically getting clean from the drug abuse Sean Combs forced and encouraged, and mentally understanding how to live with a seemingly insurmountable level of trauma. The horrors I endured drove me to have thoughts of suicide — ones I almost followed through on, if not for my family’s intervention and urging that I seek professional care. I have been to rehab and have taken part in dozens of types of therapy modalities to confront, compartmentalize, and cope with the horrific memories of sexual and emotional abuse I endured for nearly 10 years. While what he did to me is always present, I am slowly learning how to live my life free of the fear and horrors I endured, and in doing so am fully devoted to my husband and my children.

I still have nightmares and flashbacks on a regular, everyday basis, and continue to require psychological care to cope with my past. 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. As much progress as I have made in recovering from his abuse, I remain very much afraid of what he is capable of and the malice he undoubtedly harbors towards me for having the bravery to tell the truth.”

‘Mia’ (a pseudonym for privacy)

Combs’ former personal assistant 

“My work for the defendant was not a job. It was captivity. His coercive control and unpredictable violence left lasting psychological scars: anxiety, hypervigilance, dissociation, self-doubt, and an ongoing struggle to reclaim my autonomy. Years of abuse have rewired my brain. Even today, I feel trapped in the mental and emotional patterns that he created. I live with chronic and severe PTSD, depression, and crippling anxiety.

I awake with my heart pounding, gasping as if I am still trapped. I have struggled to feel safe in any workplace because of my PTSD, which has resulted in a fragmented professional record, a bankruptcy application and crippling debt. I can’t go to many of the public places I once loved — concerts, festivals, clubs — without risk of having a panic attack. I have struggled to set roots in any location and build a community of support, for fear that my abuser would find me and ruin my life all over again. I avoid social media; I can’t listen to music I once loved; I can’t watch many TV shows or movies — all for fear that I might be unexpectedly triggered and have to re-live some of the worst moments of my life.

All of this trauma was compounded by the impact of my testimony at my abuser’s trial. The investigation and pre-trial process threw me back into a world I had spent years desperately trying to suppress. I had buried so many terrible memories of abuse, including violence and sexual assault, that I was forced to dig up and re-live. I cannot overstate the traumatizing impact of reading his threatening emails, reviewing old photos and videos, and hearing his voice again. Every meeting felt like a hammer striking at the fragile foundations of my healing.”

Capricorn Clark

Combs’ former employee

“Testifying publicly in front of Puff and his supporters was one of the hardest moments of my life. Every last word you heard from me was the truth. Yet I felt, and to be honest, still feel, like I had to fight to prove that I am a ‘victim,’ because the purpose of kidnapping me wasn’t for sex trafficking. What it was for; was something more serious, more sinister and grave. Violence and absolute power, unchecked in the ultra-rich and famous.

It’s insane to me that of all the things that people heard, two counts of prostitution of men is the only thing that remains on the table. I wanted to speak up, tell the truth, and do the right thing when I was asked to testify. But I am afraid that Women and Girls in America feel less protected than ever watching what just happened. The lesson seems to be that we should not speak up, not call law enforcement for help, and not say anything, but instead keep our head down and try to make a way, regardless of what happens to us. I am afraid this may be the only realistic way to proceed in the modern world.

The last ray of light is that you provide justice to us. You have a chance to finally help him know that he cannot just do what he wants to people.”

Deonte’ Nash

Combs’ former stylist

“I do this not just for myself, but for every mother, father, child, grandparent, sister, brother, boyfriend, husband, wife, friend, artist, intern, employee and assistant, who sacrificed for a man who only abused them in return.

This issue is not only about violence, but also secrecy. Many of us were abused precisely because Mr. Combs wanted us to hold his secrets to maintain his ‘reputation.’ The truth is, Mr.  Combs never respected those who worked closest with him. He rummaged through our lives while publicly pretending to suffer through ‘hard times.’ He refuses to take responsibility, privately or publicly. The abuse was deliberate. The control was relentless. The damage is lasting. 

The same ailments Mr. Combs now claims as an excuse are the very ones he has carried with him throughout his years of touring, conducting business and abusing those around Him, they never stopped him from being violent, abusive or intoxicated when left to his own devices, they should not serve as an excuse now.

True change cannot exist without acknowledging the harm one has caused. Claiming to have changed while continuing to defend the very behavior that led to incarceration is not accountability; it is avoidance. Mr. Combs repeatedly shifts between denying responsibility, seeking sympathy, and reshaping the narrative to suit his immediate needs. Real transformation is consistent, honest, and uncomfortable; it does not depend on who is watching or what outcome is desired. Until he confronts his actions as wrong and takes full responsibility, any claim of change is hollow.”