Sean “Diddy” Combs has been sentenced to more than four years in prison over prostitution charges relating to his former girlfriends and male sex workers.

Judge Arun Subramanian handed down his 50-month sentence – including a $500,000 fine – at the end of a long and emotional full-day hearing, which saw the hip-hop mogul speak out for the first time in court.

Combs, 55, admitted his past behaviour was “disgusting, shameful and sick”, and apologised personally to Cassie Ventura and “Jane”, another former girlfriend who testified anonymously during the trial.

But despite his plea for “mercy” and expressions of remorse, the judge told him he had abused his “power and control” with women he professed to love – and rejected the defence’s characterisation that “freak off” sexual encounters were consensual experiences, that his was just a “sex, drugs and rock’n’roll story”.

Addressing Cassie and “the other brave survivors who came forward”, the judge said. “We heard you… I can only say your families are proud of you and your children will be proud of you.

“You weren’t just talking to the jury you were talking to the women who feel powerless – you gave them a voice, you stood up to power, it’s not easy.”

Combs showed no visible change of emotion as his sentence was delivered, looking straight ahead as the judge spoke. Afterwards, he seemed subdued – with no sign of the enthusiasm or feeling showed earlier in the day.

Ahead of his own speech, the court heard from six of his seven children – causing the rapper to break down in tears as they spoke about how much they loved him, how he has changed, and how much they and their younger two-year-old sister need him.

The sentencing brings to an end a sordid case that featured harrowing testimony – not just from Cassie and Jane, but also from former employees and associates of Combs.

He was convicted in July of flying people around the US and abroad for sexual encounters, including his then girlfriends and male sex workers, in violation of prostitution laws.

However, he was cleared of more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex-trafficking that could have put him in jail for life.

‘I hate myself right now’

On the eve of his sentencing, Combs submitted a letter to the judge pleading for “mercy” and apologising for the “hurt and pain” he has caused others.

He expanded on this in court, saying he wanted to “personally apologise” to Cassie for “any harm” he caused her “emotionally or physically”, and to Jane – and all victims of domestic violence.

He told the court he got “lost in my excess and lost in my ego”, but since his time in prison he has been “humbled and broken to my core”.

Combs continued: “I hate myself right now… I am truly sorry for it all.”

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Once one of the most influential hip-hop producers of the 1990s and 2000s – the founder of Bad Boy Records and a Grammy-winning artist in his own right – he has led a very different life since his high-profile arrest.

He was facing a maximum of 20 years in prison for the prostitution-related charges, so the sentence is towards the lower end of the scale.

Prosecutors had argued he should spend at least 11 years behind bars, while Combs’s lawyers were calling for him to be freed almost immediately due to time already served since his arrest just over a year ago.

Christy Slavik, for the prosecution, told the judge sparing the rapper serious prison time would excuse years of violence.

‘Make the most of that second chance’

The judge, who had rejected bail for the rapper several times before sentencing, told him that he would get through his time in prison. It will be hard, he said, but he will still “have a life afterwards”.

Combs has “a chance for renewal and redemption”, he added. “What went wrong can be made right… I am counting on you to make the most of that second chance.”

Outside the courthouse, journalists and onlookers swarmed the pavements as TV crews stood in a long row across the street, echoing scenes from the two-month high-profile trial.

It included four days of testimony from Cassie, now Cassie Ventura Fine, who told the court she was coerced and sometimes blackmailed into sexual encounters with male sex workers, referred to as “freak offs”.

Cassie responds

Jurors were also shown video clips of Combs dragging and beating her in a Los Angeles hotel hallway after one of those sessions in 2016.

Combs referred to this in court, saying it was a “heavy burden” that he will forever carry, and that he was “sick from drugs” and “out of control” at the time, “lost in my excess and lost in my ego”.

Ahead of the sentencing, Cassie also submitted a letter to the judge, calling Combs a “manipulator” and saying she would fear for her safety should he be immediately released.

Responding to the sentence, her lawyers Douglas Wigdor and Meredith Firetog (Wigdor LLP), said: “While nothing can undo the trauma caused by Combs, the sentence imposed today recognises the impact of the serious offences he committed.

“We are confident that with the support of her family and friends, Ms Ventura will continue healing knowing that her bravery and fortitude have been an inspiration to so many.”

An Alaskan climber fell to his death from Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan while livestreaming on TikTok.

Balin Miller, 23, died in a climbing accident on Wednesday, his mother Jeanine Girard-Moorman confirmed in a statement.

“He’s been climbing since he was a young boy,” she said. “His heart and soul was truly to just climb.

“He loved to climb and it was never about money and fame.”

While details of the incident are not clear, Balin’s brother Dylan Miller said that he was lead rope soloing – a way to climb alone while still protected by a rope – on a 2,400ft (730m) route named Sea of Dreams.

He had already finished the climb and was hauling up his last bit of gear when he likely rappelled off the end of his rope, the older brother said.

“He said he felt most alive when he was climbing,” Dylan added. “I’m his bigger brother but he was my mentor.”

Many posted tributes to the Alaskan climber on social media, saying they had watched him climb on a TikTok livestream and calling him “orange tent guy” because of his distinctive camp setup.

On Facebook, Michelle Derrick said Balin was livestreaming during the fatal incident, and he was attempting to retrieve his bags that were stuck on a rock when he fell.

Another climber, Tom Evans, also posted he was climbing at El Capitan at the time, and saw a man rappel off his lead line.

“He was a young man,” Mr Evans added, “highly regarded among the best climbers here.”

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Balin was an accomplished alpinist who gained international attention for claiming the first solo ascent of Mount McKinley’s Slovak Direct.

He posted photos of his ascent up the technically difficult route that took him 56 hours to complete on his Instagram in June.

It marks the third death at the national park in California this year: In June, an 18-year-old from Texas died in the park while free-soloing, or climbing without a rope, on a different formation.

In August, a 29-year-old woman died after being struck in the head by a large tree branch while hiking.

Balin’s death also came on the first day of the US government shutdown, which leaves national parks “generally” open but with limited operations and closed visitor centres.

The National Park Service said in a statement that they are investigating the incident and “park rangers and emergency personnel responded immediately”.

Sean “Diddy” Combs has apologised and taken “full responsibility” for “all of the hurt and pain” he has caused others in a letter to the court, less than 24 hours before he is due to be sentenced.

The hip-hop mogul did not give evidence during his trial earlier this year, so this is the first time he has addressed Judge Arun Subramanian.

Combs was convicted of two prostitution-related charges in July, following a trial lasting almost eight weeks, but was cleared of more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.

In the letter, the 55-year-old admits “past wrongs” but says he is no longer running from his “many mistakes”.

He also addresses the infamous CCTV footage from an LA hotel in 2016, which showed him attacking his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura.

“First and foremost, I want to apologise and say how sincerely sorry I am for all of the hurt and pain that I have caused others by my conduct,” Combs writes. “I take full responsibility and accountability for my past wrongs.”

The rapper describes the last two years – which started with a civil lawsuit filed by Cassie in November 2023 – as the “hardest” of his life, but admits: “I have no one to blame for my current reality and situation but myself.”

Since his arrest in September 2024 and subsequent time in prison, the rapper says he has “had to look in the mirror like never before” and admits his “downfall was rooted in my selfishness”.

Combs is due to be sentenced on Friday and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.

Prosecutors have called for at least 11 years, while his defence team argues he should serve no more than 14 months. The latter would see him walk free almost immediately after time already served.

His letter comes after several filed by witnesses who testified during the trial, including Cassie, who has urged the judge not to be lenient and expressed fears for her safety.

She alleged on the witness stand that she was coerced and sometimes blackmailed into taking part in sex sessions with male escorts. Combs has strenuously denied allegations of sexual abuse, and jurors cleared him of sex trafficking, only finding him guilty of the charges relating to hiring the sex workers.

However, his legal team admitted from the beginning that he had been violent in the past.

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‘I could not forgive anyone putting a hand on one of my daughters’

Talking about the 2016 CCTV footage – which showed Combs, wearing only a towel and socks, attacking Cassie in a hallway – he says in his letter: “The scene and images of me assaulting Cassie play over and over in my head daily.

“I literally lost my mind. I was dead wrong for putting my hands on the woman that I loved. I’m sorry for that and always will be. My domestic violence will always be a heavy burden that I will have to forever carry. The remorse, the sorrow, the regret, the disappointment, the shame.”

He goes on to say he feels sorry “for something that I couldn’t forgive someone else for: if they put their hands on one of my daughters.”

The footage was played several times during his trial after first being made public by CNN in May 2024.

The hip-hop mogul also references “Jane”, another former girlfriend who testified against him in court, who did not give her real name.

“I thought I was providing for Jane concerning her and her child, but after hearing her testimony, I realised that I hurt her,” he writes. “For this I am deeply sorry. I lost my way … Lost in the drugs and the excess.”

‘The old me died in jail’

Combs goes on to describe his time in prison, saying he has been “humbled and broken to my core” and that there “have been so many times that I wanted to give up”.

“The old me died in jail and a new version of me was reborn. Prison will change you or kill you – I choose to live.”

Combs says he has had therapy and has been “working diligently to become the best version” of himself, and that there has been some good to come out of his time in prison.

“For starters, I am now sober for the first time in 25 years. I have been trying my best to deal with my drug abuse and anger issues and take accountability as well as positive steps towards healing.”

Asking Judge Subramanian for “mercy” for himself, his seven children and his 84-year-old mother, he says: “I have failed my children as a father. My father was murdered when I was three years old so I know first-hand what it is to not have a father. More than anything, I just want the opportunity to return home and be the father that they need and deserve.”

Combs goes on to say he is “scared to death” at the thought of spending more time away from his family, and that he no longer cares “about the money or the fame”.

And as previously detailed by his lawyers, he describes conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn as inhumane – but says he is not looking for “pity or sympathy”, and that his time there has “changed me forever!”.

Combs concludes by vowing to never commit another crime again: “I can’t change the past, but I can change the future … I’m committed to the journey of remaining a drug free, non-violent and peaceful person.

“Today, I humbly ask you for another chance – another chance to be a better father, another chance to be a better son, another chance to be a better leader in my community, and another chance to live a better life.”