By Mevlut Ozkan
ISTANBUL (AA) - Disgraced hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was sentenced Friday to 50 months in prison for prostitution-related offenses, according to media reports.
Judge Arun Subramanian said a substantial term was necessary to demonstrate that exploitation and violence against women would face “real accountability.
Taking into account the year Combs has already served, his sentence could keep him incarcerated until late 2028, with a $500,000 fine, the maximum possible, also imposed.
Combs' sentence includes five years of supervised release, along with the forfeiture of property used to facilitate the offenses for which he was convicted.
His lawyers argued for a much lighter sentence of no more than 14 months, after a jury acquitted him of trafficking two former girlfriends for sex and running a racketeering conspiracy spanning two decades.
Prosecutors sought a sentence of over 11 years. Combs was convicted of two counts of violating the Mann Act for arranging travel across state lines for his girlfriends' encounters with male escorts.
Two women, Casandra Ventura, known as singer Cassie, and another former girlfriend, using the pseudonym Jane, testified about feeling violated by the encounters.
After remaining silent during his trial, Combs asked for mercy, apologized and described his conduct as "disgusting, shameful, and sick."