How Diddy Reacted After Verdict Was Reached in Sex Trafficking Trial

02 Jul 2025, 15:00 · The Fresno Bee

All eyes were on Sean "Diddy" Combsafter a verdict was reached in his sex trafficking trial.

While in the courtroom on Wednesday, July 2, Diddy, 55, gave a nod of approval to the jury as the verdict - he was found not guilty on three out of the five charges - was read, per an eyewitness. A court reporter in the room tells Us Weekly that Diddy was "ecstatic," leaning forward and looking at the jury. "Thank you," he mouthed to the jury with prayer hands before looking up and praying.

Diddy began chewing a piece of gum and looked like he was "relaxing" with his "guard down," the eyewitness tells Us. The disgraced rap mogul turned around in his chair and kneeled down on the ground while praying and appeared to be shaking. Diddy clapped, with a courtroom reporter telling Us there was an "uproarious applause" in the courtroom. As he tried to greet his family, he was not allowed.

News broke on Wednesday that Diddy was found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each charge (20 total). He was acquitted on charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking.

The jury, which included eight men and four women, began their deliberations on Monday, June 30. Within 70 minutes of deliberations, the foreperson sent a note of concern to Judge Arun Subramanian and requested one juror be interviewed because they "cannot follow" the instructions.

"I remind every juror of their duty to deliberate and their obligation to follow my instruction on the law," the judge wrote back. "With that instruction in mind, please continue deliberating."

While awaiting his fate, Diddy was seen reading The Power of Positive Thinking and The Happiness Advantage. On Tuesday, July 1, the jury reached a verdict on four of the five charges and were still deliberating the racketeering charge.

Diddy's trial began in May, months after Diddy was arrested and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution in September 2024. Diddy pleaded not guilty to all charges and denied all allegations against him.

"We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney's Office," Diddy's attorney Marc Agnifilo said in a statement at the time. "He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal. To his credit Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court."

Diddy has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after his arrest, with his four requests for bail being denied by Subramanian.

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.

This story was originally published July 2, 2025 at 8:00 AM.