Why Was Sean 'Diddy' Combs Just Denied Bail in Sex Trafficking Case?

Mar. 15, 2025

Sean “Diddy” Combs.Photo:Steve Granitz/WireImage

Steve Granitz/WireImage

Sean “Diddy” Combswasdenied bailfor the third time since hisSeptember arrest. Federal judge Arun Subramanian of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York cited several reasons in the ruling, issued on Wednesday, Nov. 27.

Additional allegations against Combs involve the use of firearms, threats and coercion as part of a criminal enterprise spanning decades.

The court also found clear and convincing evidence that Combs is adanger to the community, and no condition or combination of conditions would guarantee that the community would be safe if Combs were released.

Sean “Diddy” Combs in October 2023.Shareif Ziyadat/Getty

Shareif Ziyadat/Getty

Evidence of violence — such as video footage, text messages from victims, and seized firearms with defaced serial numbers — as well asCombs' alleged violationof prison rules during his detainment were also factors that the court cited. (Combs allegedly used other inmates' phone accounts, arranged unmonitored three-way calls and used unapproved communication tools while behind bars.)

Though Combs' legal team detailed conditions he would follow if he were released, like not having a cell phone, the court ultimately doubted the reliability of the proposal, considering Combs' recent alleged obstruction.

Sean “Diddy” Combs in 2017.Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Combs' claims about inadequatedetention conditionsalso fell short as the court noted his access to legal resources and time available for him to prepare for his trial,which is set to begin in May 2025.

Combs has been behind bars following his Septemberindictment. Previously, two different federal judges denied the music mogul bail.

The Bad Boy Records founder is charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. Though he has pleaded not guilty, judge-cited concerns of witness tampering have kept him behind bars to this point.

Combs allegedly made “relentless efforts to contact potential witnesses, including victims of his abuse who could provide powerful testimony against him,” according to prosecutors.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.In a filing, prosecutors accused Combs ofusing other inmates’ phone access cardsin prison to call his sons, among other people.

The defense, however, has claimed that the case against Combs was “thin” and argued that the mogul should be released on $50 million.

Combs' third bail proposal included strict release conditions that would have confined him toan Upper East Side apartmentwhere he would have been subjected to 24-hour monitoring.

In a subsequent filing, defense attorneys said that if released, Combs would not have access to his cell phone, which would be in the custody of security personnel, and that cameras had been placed in the residence.

The indictment against Combs primarily centers around"freak offs,“which authorities allege were elaborate sex performances involving male sex workers and women who were forced or coerced into participating.

source: people.com