What's Next for Diddy After Arrest on Sex Crimes Indictment? An Expert Explains

Mar. 15, 2025

Sean “Diddy” Combs.Photo:Shareif Ziyadat/Getty

Shareif Ziyadat/Getty

Sean “Diddy” Combshas a long legal road ahead of him now that he has been indicted on federal sex crimes charges, a former federal prosecutor tells PEOPLE.

“This case is 100 percent going to trial,”  attorney Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, tells PEOPLE.

Rahmani does not expect Combs to enter into a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, as many defendants do. At his arraignment on Tuesday, Sept. 17, he pleaded not guilty, according to theAssociated Press.

Considering that sentences for the charges against Combs range from 15 years to life in prison, “Diddy is not going to take any deal where he is going to spend decades in federal prison,” he says.

One of the most shocking allegations in the 14-page indictment centers around sex performances Combs called “freak offs,” where female victims were allegedly drugged and forced to have sex after being lured “into Combs’ orbit, often under the pretense of a romantic relationship.”

Combs is accused of producing, directing and recording these events, which lasted for hours and sometimes days, according to the indictment.

His attorney, Marc Agnifilo, says Combs plans to fight the charges and will plead not guilty.

Here’s what’s expected to happen next in the bombshell case:

Detention Hearing

Combs was arraigned on Tuesday. Rahmani says the next step, a detention hearing, has to happen within three court days of an initial appearance.

Diddy’s defense attorneys have proposed a bail package that includes a $50,000 bond. But prosecutors have asked the judge overseeing Combs' case to deny him bail and keep him jailed.

The detention hearing, says Rahmani, is an important event: “Obviously, being out on bond or being detained is going to make a big difference in the case, in terms of strategy and the whole appearance.”

The judge will weigh whether Combs is a flight risk or a danger to the community, Rahmani says.

“He hasn’t taken off yet, so risk of flight may work in the favor of the defense,” he says.

“But danger to the community is something very different. If you have someone who, at least according to the indictment and the U.S. Attorney, is allegedly threatening witnesses and has multiple AR-15s, with obliterated serial numbers, this is pretty serious.

“I could see a judge saying, ‘Here’s someone who’s a danger,'" he says.

“It could easily go either way.”

Setting a Trial Date

Normally a trial takes place within 70 days of an initial appearance because defendants have a right to a speedy trial, Rahmani says.

“Most of the time defendants, waive their right to a speedy trial," he says. “So I don’t expect that trial to happen within 70 days, but if Diddy insists, we would have a trial before the end of the year. That is unlikely, though.”

Fighting the Charges Before the Trial

Before the trial begins, Diddy is likely going to file motions to try to get some of the charges dismissed, he says.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go torainn.org.

source: people.com