Diddy’s family packs court while ‘freak off’ participant ‘The Punisher’ speaks out before mogul learns his prison fate

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs will be sentenced this morning for his conviction on two prostitution-related counts – crimes prosecutors say deserve more than a decade behind bars.

The two prostitution-related counts each carry a maximum penalty of a decade in prison.

Prosecutors are urging Judge Arun Subramanian to sentence Combs to at least 11 years, calling him ‘unrepentant’ and a public threat.

Diddy’s lawyers meanwhile have asked that the judge grant him 14 months, which would effectively be time served.

Ahead of his decision, Subramanian is weighing materials including victim impact statements. At least one witness, a former assistant who testified under the name Mia, is expected to read her statement in court.

The judge also has reference letters supporting Combs – in addition to a lengthy plea for leniency from the artist himself.

Picture: Flanked by defense attorneys Teny Geragos, left, and Brian Steel, right, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, center, reacts after he was denied bail on prostitution-related offenses in Manhattan federal court on July 2, 2025

Sharay Hayes, an exotic dancer nicknamed ‘The Punisher’, who took part in Diddy‘s notorious ‘freak off’ parties was seen outside Manhattan federal court this morning with his self-help in hand.

Hayes published a best-selling book earlier this year about his inability to function properly in the bedroom.

In Search of Freezer Meat explores the topic of erectile dysfunction and has soared to number one in Amazon’s ‘Male Impotence’ category – thanks in part to his recent courtroom testimony at Diddy’s trial and repeated references to the infamous ‘Freak Off’ sessions in the book.

The book, which includes a six-page description of his sordid encounters with the hip-hop mogul and Cassie Ventura.

Diddy’s lawyers began to arrive in court half an hour before the sentencing began.

Marc Agnifilo and Nicole Westmoreland entered the room with Agnifilo pacing around.

Dozens of people had been waiting outside the court for the handful of seats for the public – some had been there since Thursday, the day before the sentencing took place.

Diddy’s other lawyers have begun to file in: Xavier Donaldson and Teny Geragos, who is heavily pregnant, are now in court.

Alexandra Shapiro and Jason Driscoll have arrived too. The public gallery is filling up.

The prosecutors have arrived: all five of them, but no Maurene Comey of course. She was fired by Donald Trump’s Justice Department after the verdict.

Diddy’s defense team has released a roughly 11-minute video that they intend to play in court this morning.

Defense attorney Brian Steel filed a submission to the court yesterday which included the documentary-style video depicting the rapper as a stand up guy.

The compilation shows Diddy worker with charities, youth engagement programs and highlights how he cared for his children over the years.

Janice Combs was a constant, composed figure throughout the explosive eight-week trial in New York, where she, along with other family members, sat through graphic testimony that her son was a vicious, violent abuser of women and a drug addict.

The rapper’s mother has once again turned up to support her son.

The 80-year-old looked slim and chic in a white blazer and pants as she arrived at Manhattan federal court ahead of Diddy’s sentencing today.

More members of Diddy’s team have arrived at Manhattan Federal Court this morning ahead of his sentencing.

Defense attorneys Teny Geragos and Brian Steel were photographed walking into the courthouse today.

Diddy lawyer Xavier Donaldson was also spotted entering the building.

In addition to his legal team, Diddy’s publicist Holly Baird will be in court today. She was pictured entering the courthouse not long ago.

Pictured: Teny Geragos arriving at the federal courthouse this morning

Pictured: Brian Steel arrives at Manhattan federal court for Diddy’s sentencing

Pictured: Diddy’s publicist Holly Baird outside the courthouse this morning

Diddy is set to be sentenced today for violating the federal Mann Act, an anti-prostitution law with a century-old history.

The Mann Act makes it illegal to transport someone across state lines for the purpose of prostitution or other illegal sex acts.

Over the years, the law has been used to prosecute R&B superstar R. Kelly, Jeffrey Epstein companion Ghislaine Maxwell, musician Chuck Berry and, more than a century ago, boxer Jack Johnson.

Its broad wording and a subsequent Supreme Court interpretation once allowed prosecutors to bring cases against interracial couples, and eventually many others in consensual relationships, according to Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute.

The law was amended in the 1980s and today a lot of Mann Act prosecutions involve people accused of taking children across state lines for sexual purposes.

Defense attorney Xavier Donaldson has arrived at the Manhattan federal court this morning for the 10am sentencing of his client Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.

Prosecutors seek to have Combs sentenced to at least 11 years and 3 months in prison for his conviction on two prostitution-related charges.

But Diddy’s lawyers say the sexual encounters were consensual and that being in jail has hastened Combs’ sobriety and forced him to learn from his misbehavior.

They have said there is no need for him to remain behind bars because he has already been punished enough.

At a court hearing last week, Combs seemed buoyant as he told his mother and children that he is ‘getting closer to going home’.

Pictured: Diddy attorney Xavier Donaldson arrives at Manhattan federal court this morning

Sean ‘Diddy‘ Combs won’t get the ‘Club Fed’ treatment when he is finally sentenced to prison, but he could have more freedom than he’s experienced since his 2024 arrest.

Mangel predicts the disgraced mogul will have more opportunities to interact with his family than he has for the past 11 months while at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn – where he’s been held during his criminal trial.

The consultant added that he’ll have more ‘freedom and liberty’ at the next facility.

In her letter to the judge ahead of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’s sentencing, Cassie Ventura dismissed his claims of remorse.

‘I know that who he was to me – the manipulator, the aggressor, the abuser, the trafficker – is who he is as a human,’ she wrote. ‘He has no interest in changing or becoming better. He will always be the same cruel, power-hungry, manipulative man that he is.’

Ventura noted that Combs had denied her allegations of assault until the footage of the beating emerged, and she urged the judge to issue a sentence that ‘reflects the strength it took for victims of Sean Combs to come forward.’

‘I hope that your decision considers the many lives that Sean Combs has upended with his abuse and control,’ she wrote.

Combs, on the eve of his sentencing wrote a letter to Judge Arun Subramanian in which he apologized for hitting, kicking and dragging his then-girlfriend at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016 – an attack captured on security camera.

‘The scene and images of me assaulting Cassie play over and over in my head daily,’ Combs wrote. ‘I literally lost my mind. I was dead wrong for putting my hands on the woman that I loved. I’m sorry for that and always will be.’

That footage was shown repeatedly during his two-month trial, which also included testimony from women who said Combs had beaten, threatened, blackmailed or sexually assaulted them.

Pictured: Cassie Ventura and Diddy attending the Los Angeles Premiere of Apple Music’s CAN’T STOP WON’T STOP: A BAD BOY STORY at The WGA Theater on June 21, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California

Diddy, who did not speak during his eight-week trial, is expected to address the court for the first time today.

He intends to make an allocution in front of the court, begging for mercy and expressing his remorse.

His lawyers have requested that Diddy, who wants to deliver his statement to the court in the ‘most dignified and respectful fashion possible’, be permitted to wear ‘non-prison clothing’ during the sentencing.

Diddy’s team asked that he receives ‘one button down shirt, one pair of pants, one sweater, and one pair of shoes without laces to wear to court’, according to USA Today.

Diddy’s lawyers have released a new video compilation attempting to present the rapper as having been a ‘family man’, ‘inspiration’, and ‘pillar of the community’.

The compilation features home videos of the fallen music mogul’s children, his speeches at schools and universities, and ‘mentoring’ activities.

The explosive legal saga is set to come to an end today as the rapper is sentenced following eight weeks of court proceedings.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs will appear in federal court in Manhattan this morning at 10am for his sentencing.

The sentencing comes after a nearly two-month trial featuring testimony from women who described being beaten, threatened, sexually assaulted and blackmailed by Combs.

The rapper is expected to speak directly to Judge Arun Subramanian during today’s hearing.

Diddy was convicted on two counts of prostitution charges during the grueling eight-week trial.

A jury acquitted Combs, 55, of more serious racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges that could have put him away for life.

DEEP DIVE delves into Diddy’s 30-year reign of excess and debauchery in unprecedented detail, starting with his ‘crazy’ fits of rage as a student in the 1980s that earned him the disturbing ‘Puff’ nickname.

Contained within hundreds of pages of civil court documents are the horrifying details of his tempestuous relationship with Cassie Ventura – which ultimately led to the floodgates opening.

Among the many allegations contained within the papers are claims that Diddy filmed fellow A-list celebrities taking drugs and having sex with prostitutes.

Diddy wrote a four-page letter to Judge Arun Subramanian, who will decide his sentence, requesting leniency and ‘mercy’ ahead of his sentencing.

He alleged he wanted to resume his role as primary caretaker for his ill mother and focus his efforts on being a good father to his seven children.

The rapper claimed to ‘take full responsibility’ for his actions and issued an apology to his victims.

‘First and foremost, I want to apologize and say how sincerely sorry I am for all of the hurt and pain that I have caused others by my conduct,’ he wrote.

‘I take full responsibility and accountability for my past wrongs.’

The letter also saw Diddy reflect on his time in prison and his trial, alleging that the ‘scene and images of me assaulting Cassie play over and over in my head daily’.

‘I lost my way. I got lost in my journey. Lost in the drugs and the excess,’ he continued. ‘My downfall was rooted in my selfishness.’