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Sean "Diddy" Combs is set to be sentencing on Friday morning by a US district judge in New York, after his guilty verdict earlier this year on charges related to prostitution.

This article provides a recap of his legal proceedings: the charges he faced, what happened at trial, and potential next steps.

What Was He Found Guilty Of?

During July, following a two-month trial, a panel of jurors found Combs guilty of two counts of transporting individuals for prostitution. He was found not guilty of the more severe allegations against him, racketeering and sex trafficking, which carried the potential of a life imprisonment.

The offenses on which he was convicted each carry a maximum sentence of a decade. Combs had pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.

Judge Arun Subramanian, who oversaw the trial, will deliver the ruling on the scheduled day, with the hearing due to begin at 10:00 AM Eastern Time in a federal courthouse in downtown Manhattan.

Combs, 55, has been held without bail at the Brooklyn metropolitan detention center since his arrest in the previous September. Since the decision, the judge has denied multiple bail applications from Combs’s legal team, and recently Subramanian also denied a request to overturn the guilty verdicts.

What Was Combs Accused Of?

Federal prosecutors accused the music executive of using his power, fame, wealth and influence, and using violence, threats and blackmail, to coerce two of his former girlfriends into engaging in sex parties involving drugs with male escorts. Such events were often referred to by the accused as “freak-offs”, which prosecutors claimed Combs organized, observed, masturbated to and sometimes filmed.

The prosecution asserted that for more than two decades, Combs operated a criminal enterprise – aided by employees and associates – to conduct and conceal crimes including sex-trafficking, drug distribution, corruption and abduction.

Although found guilty on two counts, Combs has disputed wrongdoing. His attorneys have insisted that all sexual activity was mutually agreed and that no illicit organization was present.

What Happened During the Trial?

The prosecution presented more than 30 witnesses, including former partners of Combs – singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and a second individual who testified using the alias Jane – who described the alleged events in graphic detail, and alleged that Combs pressured and intimidated them into participating.

Ventura was the star prosecution witness. She stated that during her long-term relationship with Combs, he subjected her to physical, sexual and emotional abuse and to extortion. The jury was shown the 2016 video of Combs attacking Ventura in a hallway. Jane also testified of a violent altercation with Combs.

Other witnesses included ex-staff, male escorts, police officers, hotel employees and celebrities including musician Kid Cudi and artist Dawn Richard. Combs did not testify.

Combs’s defense attorneys acknowledged previous incidents of domestic violence, but denied that any coercion or sex trafficking occurred. They maintained that every sexual act was consensual and part of a “alternative lifestyle”, and contended that Ventura and Jane were consenting adults in the encounters.

What Sentence Might He Face?

Combs’s lawyers have asked the court for a penalty of no more than 14 months in prison, which, considering time served, would permit his release before the end of the year. They argue that Combs has already been “adequately punished” by spending over a year in the “terrible conditions” at the detention center.

Federal prosecutors, however, have requested a minimum of 135 months (11 years and three months) and a half-million-dollar penalty. In court filings, they portrayed Combs as “showing no remorse” and said that “his history and characteristics show a pattern of misconduct.

What Was Said In Victim Impact Statements?

The prosecution filed multiple statements from victims to the court ahead of sentencing, including one from Ventura.

“Although the jurors did not seem to understand or believe that I participated in freak-offs because of the pressure and intimidation the defendant used against me, I know that is the truth, and his punishment should account for the truth of the testimony and my personal experience as a survivor,” Ventura stated.

“I am so scared that if he is released, his first actions will be immediate revenge towards me and others who spoke up about his misconduct, at trial,” she said.

“If there is one thing I have learned from this ordeal, it is that victims and survivors will never be safe,” she added. “I hope that your ruling considers the facts at hand that the panel failed to see.”

What Comes Next?

Following the court's decision, Combs’s attorneys could appeal against the sentence. Combs’s team is also likely to contest his verdict.

Additionally, Combs faces dozens of civil lawsuits accusing him of misconduct and further offenses. He has disputed all allegations in those proceedings.