The judge who sentenced Sean “Diddy” Combs has suggested that the embattled music executive serve the rest of his conviction in a federal prison that isn’t far from the New York metropolitan area.
As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, Judge Arun Subramanian sentenced Combs, 55, to 50 months in prison on prostitution-related charges. Judge Subramanian also fined him $500,000 and ordered five years of supervised release at a hearing in Manhattan federal court on Friday, October 3. Combs had faced up to 20 years behind bars.
The disgraced music executive and multi-millionaire was arrested by federal agents on September 16 last year and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs has, however, maintained his innocence.
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Though Judge Subramanian, in legal documents obtained by TMZ, emphasized that Combs should serve his sentence near home, he did not make mention of a particular prison where the 55-year-old should be held.
Judge Subramanian, however, stated that Combs should serve his conviction in a prison with “any available substance abuse program, including the Bureau of Prisons’ Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP), for which he qualifies.”
Judge Subramanian is not barred from recommending a prison for Combs to serve his sentence, but it is up to the Bureau of Prisons to make the final determination.
Face2Face Africa previously reported that Combs’ legal team had asked Judge Subramanian to recommend that he serve his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution, Fort Dix in New Jersey to enable him to “address drug abuse issues” and “maximize family visitation and rehabilitative efforts.”
Federal prosecutors also responded to Combs’ request to serve his sentence at the low-security prison, stating that they have “no position,” TMZ reported. But Combs’ attorney, Mark Geragos, appeared to suggest that the 55-year-old will not be safe in any prison facility, stating on the 2 Angry Men podcast that other inmates will target the Bad Boy Records founder and New York native.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump on Monday also revealed that Combs asked him for a presidential pardon in his high-profile federal sex trafficking case. Trump, 79, touched on the topic while speaking with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins about the likelihood of granting Jeffrey Epstein’s ex-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, a pardon. Trump stated that Combs and “a lot of people” have asked him for pardons.
Trump had also initially stated that he wasn’t looking at granting Combs a presidential pardon. “I was very friendly with him, I got along with him great and he seemed like a nice guy,” Trump told Newsmax. “I didn’t know him well. But when I ran for office, he was very hostile.”
Trump also stated that Combs’ hostility toward him was why it was “more difficult” to grant him the pardon.
