Sean “Diddy” Combs is asking a federal appeals court to throw out his conviction and 50-month prison sentence stemming from prostitution-related charges.
During a hearing Thursday in Manhattan, Combs’ attorneys argued that the judge in his case improperly considered allegations of abuse after a jury acquitted him of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges last summer.
Diddy was convicted in July on two counts of interstate prostitution. Prosecutors had accused the 56-year-old disgraced music mogul of arranging so-called “freak offs,” described in court as lengthy, drug-fueled sexual encounters involving women transported across state lines.
He pleaded not guilty and has denied wrongdoing.
Diddy’s legal team argued that the encounters were consensual and said U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian overstepped when he considered accusations that Diddy “coerced, exploited and forced” former girlfriends into sex acts.
In court filings, the defense said the judge acted like “a thirteenth juror.”
“This sentence was the highest sentence ever imposed for a Mann Act defendant,” defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro told the appeals panel Thursday.
At Diddy’s sentencing, Judge Subramanian said he was required to consider the rapper’s broader conduct.
“You abused the power and control with women you professed to love,” the judge said. “You abused them physically, emotionally and psychologically.”
Federal prosecutor Christy Slavik defended the sentence, calling it appropriate and below federal guidelines. The appeals court did not immediately rule.