Diddy was discovered not responsible on 4 counts Wednesday (July 2) after a jury rejected the federal government’s case accusing him of working a prison enterprise constructed on intercourse trafficking, coercion and violence.

Jurors delivered a partial verdict, discovering him not responsible of racketeering, intercourse trafficking by pressure, intercourse trafficking of Casandra Ventura and intercourse trafficking of Jane. Nevertheless, the jury returned a responsible verdict on one rely: transporting Ventura and Jane throughout state strains to interact in prostitution.

The jury rejected prosecutors’ claims that he operated a prison enterprise and used pressure, fraud, or coercion to site visitors the 2 ladies, dealing a major blow to the federal government’s broader case.

The decision got here in on the third day of deliberations. Yesterday, U.S. District Choose Arun Subramanian obtained a be aware from the jury explaining that they may not attain a verdict on Rely 1—the racketeering conspiracy cost, which had virtually gone unresolved.

However Choose Subramanian instructed the jurors to proceed deliberating till they reached a verdict, which finally resulted within the beautiful win for Diddy this afternoon.

The not-guilty rulings mark a major blow to federal prosecutors who alleged Diddy led a years-long marketing campaign of coercion, manipulation, and abuse and now any obligatory minimal sentences are off the desk.

The 12-member panel, comprising 5 white jurors, 4 Black jurors, two Hispanic jurors, and one Asian juror whose id was stored confidential, deliberated for 3 days earlier than reaching its determination.

The not-guilty verdicts capped a six-week trial that featured graphic testimony, high-profile witnesses and a barrage of proof, together with surveillance footage and textual content messages.

The decision marks a significant authorized victory for the music mogul, who has been held on the Metropolitan Detention Middle in Brooklyn since his arrest in September 2024.

Prosecutors had painted Diddy because the chief of a decades-long prison operation that used his fame, fortune and inside circle to take advantage of ladies.

They alleged he orchestrated intercourse events referred to as “freak-offs,” drugged and manipulated ex-girlfriends, together with Cassie Ventura, and used workers to cowl up abuse.

The federal government additionally accused him of bribery, arson and kidnapping, citing testimony from 34 witnesses and proof seized throughout raids.

Assistant U.S. Lawyer Christy Slavik informed jurors Combs “counted on silence and disgrace” to guard himself and insisted the proof proved intercourse trafficking and racketeering past an inexpensive doubt.

Nevertheless, the protection disassembled that narrative and efficiently satisfied the jury that Diddy was harmless by specializing in consent and credibility.

They argued that Diddy’s relationships, together with his tumultuous historical past with Ventura, had been consensual and never prison. His attorneys described their romance as a “nice trendy love story” and admitted to home violence however denied it rose to the extent of federal crimes.

The protection referred to as no witnesses of their very own, as a substitute counting on cross-examinations to poke holes within the prosecution’s timeline and motives.

Diddy’s lawyer Marc Agnifilo highlighted inconsistencies in witness accounts and launched texts and social media posts suggesting some accusers maintained pleasant contact with Diddy lengthy after the alleged abuse.

Diddy, who pleaded not responsible to all expenses, confronted as much as life in jail if convicted. The acquittal is sort of a re-run of one in every of Diddy’s tv reveals.

In 2001, he was acquitted on all expenses stemming from a high-profile nightclub taking pictures in Manhattan. That trial revolved round a December 1999 incident at Membership New York, the place three folks had been injured.

Prosecutors accused Diddy—then referred to as Puff Daddy—of gun possession and bribery after police claimed he tried to cover a weapon in a automobile with then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez.

However the jury discovered him not responsible in March 2001, clearing him of any wrongdoing. Rapper Shyne, however, was convicted of weapons charges and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Quickly, it will likely be enterprise as typical for Diddy, who will probably be a free man and again out on the streets to run his enterprise empire.

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