Sean Combs Asks for Leniency in Personal Letter to Judge Ahead of Sentencing: ‘I Lost My Way’

Sean Combs^[1] made a last-ditch plea for leniency in a personal letter written to a federal judge on Thursday ahead of his Friday sentencing on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs wrote that he has been humbled by his time spent in prison while awaiting sentencing, saying he’s been “working diligently to become the best version of myself.”

“Today, I humbly ask you for another chance — another chance to be a better father, another chance to be a better son, another chance to be a better leader in my community, and another chance to live a better life,” Combs wrote in the four-page letter obtained by Rolling Stone. “I am writing this not to gain any sympathy or pity, this experience is simply the truth of my existence and has changed my life forever and I will never commit a crime again.”

Combs, who said he’s sober “for the first time in 25 years,” continued, “This has been the hardest two years of my life, and I have no one to blame for my current reality and situation but myself.”

Combs, 55, has spent more than a year in federal custody after his September 2024 arrest^[2] in the felony case. On July 2, a jury convicted him^[3] of the two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Jurors rejected a trio of more serious charges, finding that prosecutors failed to prove Combs ran a racketeering conspiracy or sex trafficked two former girlfriends. The acquittals meant Combs was no longer facing the possibility of life in prison. At the time, the mogul pumped his fist and dropped to his knees as he celebrated in the courtroom.

“In my life, I have made many mistakes, but I am no longer running from them,” he wrote. “I am so sorry for the hurt that I caused, but I understand that the mere words ‘I’m sorry’ will never be good enough as these words alone cannot erase the pain from the past,” he wrote.

In a sentencing letter filed last week^[4], Combs’ defense asked for no more than 14 months in prison, arguing his conviction did not involve a “profit motive” or any “brothels, pimps, or minors.” Prosecutors, meanwhile, asked for a sentence^[5] of 11 years and three months in custody, arguing an “unrepentant” Combs committed his crimes while subjecting his ex-girlfriends to “violence, coercion, and abuse.” For their part, federal probation officials have recommended a sentence of about six to seven years in prison.

Combs is facing a maximum possible sentence of 20 years, considering each of his two Mann Act convictions carries up to 10 years. U.S. District Court Judge Arun Subramanian will have wide latitude to issue whatever sentence he sees fit up to that maximum. In a series of rulings on motions brought by Combs after his conviction, Judge Subramanian has been stern. He denied multiple requests from the defense to get Combs out of custody pending sentencing, and in a 16-page ruling Tuesday, he rejected a motion asking him to either vacate^[6] the jury’s convictions or order a new trial on the two Mann Act charges only. Combs and his lawyers argued in part that he was an amateur porn producer whose freak-off sessions and videos were protected by his First Amendment rights.

“At some point, illegal activity can’t be laundered into constitutionally protected activity just by the desire to watch it,” the judge wrote in his ruling. “Combs’s conduct goes far beyond that point. Evidence at trial showed that when Combs filmed, he didn’t typically give notice ahead of time or ask for consent, as a film producer would; and that he masturbated, suggesting that the purpose was his immediate sexual gratification.”

Ahead of his sentencing, Combs also submitted letters from scores of supporters asking for mercy for the music mogul. One letter submitted late Wednesday was from Gina Huynh, the Combs ex-girlfriend who previously told gossip vlogger Tasha K that Combs shoved her to the ground and dragged her by her hair in 2018. She said he also “stomped” on her stomach in a jealous rage^[7]. 

Huynh wrote in her letter that she cooperated with prosecutors leading up to the trial and was identified as Victim-3 in court filings. She claimed she was willing to testify, but suggested prosecutors decided not to call her. Huynh said that during her meetings with prosecutors, she felt “pressured to feel like a victim.” She said her “truth” was something different.

“I understand they concluded that I had been sex trafficked and involved in ‘forced prostitution.’ I did not agree with that conclusion. I was not trafficked. I did not engage in prostitution with him or others. That would have been my testimony if called to the stand,” she wrote. “I want to emphasize that I understand the seriousness of this case and the pain others may feel. I cannot speak for anyone but myself. In terms of sentencing, I kindly ask that you consider releasing him back to his family.”

In a victim impact letter submitted to the court by prosecutors late Monday, Combs’ ex-girlfriend, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, identified as Victim-1 in Combs’ indictment, pleaded for a substantial sentence^[8]. She said Combs beat and threatened her throughout their decade-long relationship, and forced her into voyeuristic, drug-fueled sex marathons with male escorts almost weekly.

“I was forced into lingerie and heels, told exactly how to look, and plied with drugs and alcohol so he could control me like a puppet. These events were degrading and disgusting, leaving me with infections, illnesses, and days of physical and emotional exhaustion before he demanded it all again. Sex acts became my full-time job, used as the only way to stay in his good graces,” Ventura wrote.

Ventura said that she still suffers from “nightmares and flashbacks” and continues to “require psychological care to cope” with her past. She wrote that she still worries that Combs or his associates will come after her and her family. Ventura added that although her family has moved out of the New York area, she keeps “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.”