Journalist Touré did not mince words during his appearance in a special that ABC News aired hours after a verdict was reached in the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs.
On Wednesday, July 2, Diddy, 55, was found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, but was acquitted on charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. The transportation charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars.
“It’s like so far beyond the line,” Touré remarked on Wednesday’s Verdict: The Diddy Trial, an ABC News Studios production. “You’re talking about a bored billionaire sex addict who’s like, ‘What weirdo sex thing can we do? Oh, I don’t know! Get Anton to come here to Turks and Caicos.’”
The writer added: “You can’t do that! You can’t fly sex workers around the country. And [they were] doing it over and over and over.”
The 12-person jury, consisting of eight men and four women, reached their partial guilty verdict after several days of deliberations. Diddy had pleaded not guilty to all charges against him following his September 2024 arrest in New York City.
Multiple people, including Diddy’s ex-girlfriend Cassie, accused Diddy of sexual assault and sex trafficking. The disgraced music mogul denied all of the allegations against him.
The trial centered on claims made by Cassie, 38, and an unnamed Jane Doe. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson stated in the prosecution’s opening statement that some of the allegations against Diddy might “be hard to hear” as they referenced sexual assault, domestic violence and kidnapping.
Over seven weeks of testimony, the jury heard from witnesses including Cassie, Kid Cudi and Danity Kane member Dawn Richard.
In closing arguments, Diddy’s defense team claimed that his infamous freak offs were not criminal but rather an expression of his sexual proclivities. They also argued that his drug use was personal and not a criminal offense.
As for the racketeering charge, the rapper’s attorney, Marc Agnifilo, argued there was “a gaping lack of evidence when it comes to the racketeering conspiracy acts. If you find that you’re in the weeds of this great complexity, maybe that’s because it’s just not there.”
Making her closing argument to jurors, Prosecutor Maurene Comey stated: “For 20 years, the defendant got away with his crimes. Today it ends in this courtroom. He is not a god, he is a person. Find him guilty.”
Judge Arun Subramanian ruled after the verdict that Diddy should remain in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn as he awaits his October 3 sentencing.
Diddy’s defense is seeking a prison sentence of 21 to 27 months, while prosecutors have requested a sentence of 51 to 63 months. Diddy will also get credit for the time he’s already served since his arrest last year.
“I’m floored by the jury’s verdict,” Aubrey O’Day, a singer who was signed by his Bad Boy Records, told Inside Edition on Wednesday. “The evidence is there. For me, it’s all the way there. I feel that there’s going to be an instinct for people to want to suggest that the prosecution overcharged, overreached, didn’t do enough.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support. If you or someone you know is a human trafficking victim, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
Read the full article here
