LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Hip-hop mogul Sean Combs received a mixed verdict in his federal criminal trial in Manhattan yesterday.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
He was found not guilty of two of the most serious charges, racketeering and sex trafficking, but found guilty of two counts of a lesser prostitution-related charge.
FADEL: Joining us now is NPR culture correspondent Anastasia Tsioulcas. She was at the court yesterday for the verdict. And a warning, this conversation includes mention of physical and sexual violence. Good morning.
ANASTASIA TSIOULCAS, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: So walk us briefly through the verdict.
TSIOULCAS: Sure thing. In short, Sean Combs was charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. And all of those accusations were related to two ex-girlfriends of Combs, a singer named Casandra "Cassie" Ventura and a woman who testified under the pseudonym Jane. And both Jane and Ventura claimed they had been sexually trafficked to various locations across the country to participate in drug and sex marathons orchestrated by Combs with male sex workers. And Combs referred to these events as freak-offs or hotel nights. The women alleged that he had forced them to participate, and the defense argued those were all consensual encounters. So the jury found him not guilty of sex trafficking.
The government has also alleged that Combs used his vast business empire, which spans music, fashion, alcohol, media, and that he used some of his employees to aid and hide a number of other crimes, including bribery, obstruction of justice and witness tampering. That's the racketeering charge, and he was also acquitted of that charge.
FADEL: OK, but the jury did find him guilty of one set of charges, right?
TSIOULCAS: That's right, transportation to engage in prostitution. Some folks may have heard of that crime referred to as the Mann Act, and that's essentially bringing people across state lines for prostitution. So this jury, which was racially diverse and comprised of eight men and four women, found him guilty of two counts of that. But those are far less serious charges than the others. If Combs had been found guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking, he would have been facing as much as life in prison. Each of the prostitution-related decisions instead carries a maximum sentence of 10 years apiece.
FADEL: Now, Anastasia, you were at the court yesterday. What was that like?
TSIOULCAS: Well, Leila, this whole trial has been a circus. I've been in court for many of the days. There have been all the regular media figures that you'd expect, but both the main courtroom and various overflow rooms have been packed with fans, tourists, sometimes families with small kids.
FADEL: Wow.
TSIOULCAS: TikTokers, YouTubers, all kinds of folks. And yesterday was no different. When the verdict was announced yesterday, you could hear gasps and cheers. Combs' family was crying. Some of his defense lawyers were crying. And after the verdict was read, Combs was down on the floor behind the defense table, kneeling in gratitude.
FADEL: So after yesterday's verdict, where do things stand now?
TSIOULCAS: Yesterday afternoon, the judge in this trial, Arun Subramanian, denied Combs bail per AP. The judge pointed out to Combs' defense team, they had admitted in court that he has a long history of violence. So he decided Combs will remain in custody until his sentence hearing.
FADEL: That's NPR's Anastasia Tsioulcas. Thank you so much.
TSIOULCAS: You bet. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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