Diddy supporters cover themselves in baby oil after bombshell court verdict

But the rapper will remain behind bars after the judge denied his bail application.

A judge has declined a bail application made by Sean "Diddy" Combs, leaving him to sit in prison as he awaits sentencing in his sex crimes case.

The bond decision came after a jury convicted Combs of federal prostitution-related offences but acquitted him of sex trafficking and racketeering charges.

Combs, 55, has been behind bars since his arrest in September.

The Grammy-winning impresario stands convicted of two counts of a crime — transportation to engage in prostitution — that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. But jurors cleared him of charges that could have put him behind bars for life.

His lawyers argued that the acquittal on those counts changed the legal landscape enough that he should be freed on $US1 million bond. Prosecutors said he remained a flight risk.

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As the jury foreman spoke and the "not guilty" verdicts piled up, Combs pumped his fist.

As each juror affirmed agreement with the verdict, Combs looked toward the jury and held his hands up in a prayer motion, and he hugged defence lawyer Teny Geragos.

Combs' relatives and supporters in the audience could barely contain their relief, despite the judge's admonition to avoid outbursts: When the first "not guilty" was read aloud, someone shouted, "Yeah!"

Combs, 55, later continued to pump his right fist subtly, seemingly satisfied that he was acquitted on the most serious charges.

9News US correspondent Lauren Tomasi reported from outside court after the verdict that a large group of the rapper's supporters had gathered, some of whom had covered themselves in baby oil.

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Combs was convicted of flying people around the country, including his girlfriends and paid male sex workers, to engage in sexual encounters, a felony violation of the federal Mann Act.

But the jury of eight men and four women acquitted Combs of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges, related to allegations that he used his money, power and frightening physical force to manipulate his girlfriends into hundreds of drug-fueled sex marathons with the men.

Combs' defence team argued that the women were willing participants and that none of his violence justified the severity of the charges.

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Marc Agnifilo, a lawyer for Combs, asked that his client be immediately released because the federal Mann Act crimes were of a "vastly different nature" than sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. Combs has been behind bars since his September arrest.

Assistant US Attorney Maurene Comey said he should remain incarcerated as a danger to the community and a threat to flee. She cited evidence of physical abuse and "prolific use and distribution of drugs" that emerged during the trial.

"I do believe we'll be seeking a substantial period of incarceration," Comey said.

US District Judge Arun Subramanian said he wouldn't decide whether to free Combs on bail until later in the day after lawyers submit written arguments.

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Combs appeared overwhelmed as court adjourned for a few hours. He wiped his face, turning and kneeling at his chair, his head bowed in prayer. In the audience, his relatives stood and applauded as he faced them.

"I'll be home soon", he said, and "I love you, baby"

"I love you, Mom," he added.

His relatives applauded him and his lawyers, some of whom had tears in their eyes, as he was led out of court.

There's no date yet for sentencing, when the judge will decide on Combs' punishment for the prostitution conviction.

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Verdict follows weeks of harrowing testimony

Federal officials involved in the case responded to the outcome by noting that sex crimes "are all too present in many aspects of our society".

"New Yorkers and all Americans want this scourge stopped and perpetrators brought to justice," Manhattan-based US Attorney Jay Clayton and Ricky J Patel, who heads federal Homeland Security Investigations' New York office, said in a statement.

Jurors deliberated for about 13 hours over three days before announcing their verdict. It came after they said late Tuesday that they had decided on four counts but were stuck on the racketeering one. At that point, the judge told them to keep deliberating and keep the partial verdict under wraps.

Combs did not testify at his trial, which featured 34 witnesses as well as video of the rapper attacking his former girlfriend Cassie, the R&B singer born Casandra Ventura.

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Her lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, said in a statement after the verdict that "by coming forward with her experience, Cassie has left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice".

Cassie testified for four days about her turbulent 11-year relationship with Combs, which began after she signed with his Bad Boy record label.

Cassie said Combs became obsessed with voyeuristic encounters, arranged with the help of his staff, that involved sex workers and copious amounts of baby oil. During the sex events, called "freak-offs" or "hotel nights", Combs would order Cassie to do things with other men that she found humiliating, she testified.

When things didn't go Combs' way, he would beat her, she said.

"I'm not a rag doll. I'm somebody's child," Cassie told Combs after he dragged her down a hotel hallway in 2016.

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Another ex-girlfriend, testifying under the pseudonym "Jane", told the jury she repeatedly told Combs she didn't want to have sex with the men hired for their trysts.

"I'm not an animal. I need a break," she told him.

Nevertheless, she said she felt "obligated" to comply with his demands, in part because he paid her rent.

The AP does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie has.

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Defence calls case an invasion of privacy

The trial's most famous witness, rapper Kid Cudi, said Combs broke into his home in late 2011 after learning he and Cassie were dating. After his car was firebombed a few weeks later, Cudi — whose real name is Scott Mescudi — said he knew Combs "had something to do" with it. Combs denied it.

Combs' defence team acknowledged that he could be violent but argued that prosecutors were intruding in his personal life. In his closing remarks to the jury, Agnifilo said it wasn't illegal for Combs to make "homemade porn" with his girlfriends.

"They go into the man's bedroom. They go into the man's most private life. Where is the crime scene?" Agnifilo said.

Rapper, entrepreneur and criminal defendant

Combs was at the centre of the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop battles of the 1990s and became one of the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades, diversifying his interests with the Sean John fashion label, Ciroc vodka, a cable TV channel and a film and TV studio.

In 2001, Combs was at the centre of one of the biggest hip-hop trials of its era, stemming from a Manhattan nightclub shooting that injured three people in 1999. Combs was acquitted of charges that he took an illegal gun into the club and tried to bribe his driver to take the fall.

His career recovered quickly that time.

Combs' reputation may have suffered irreparable damage, though, after Cassie sued him in November 2023, alleging years of sexual and physical abuse. He settled the next day for $US20 million ($30.4 million), but more lawsuits by other women and men followed.

Most are still pending.

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