Sean Combs had a good day in court this week, as he was exonerated on the more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, and now attention has turned to what comes next. The work continues for Diddy’s legal team as they prepare for sentencing, and for some who spoke out against him — including his former personal chef — there’s allegedly concern about retaliation from the music mogul.
Jourdan Atkinson was on the prosecution’s witness list but was not called to testify against her former employer, per People. She reported that she was both a victim of alleged physical abuse by P. Diddy and a witness to his alleged abuse of ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura. As the rapper awaits sentencing on the charges of transportation to engage in prostitution, Atkinson wrote a letter to Judge Arun Subramania, which she posted to Instagram. It read, in part:
Those of us who were subpoenaed are terrified at the possibility of his retaliation against us. I'd like to express how terrifying this whole ordeal has been for me personally. This past year and a half has been traumatizing. This verdict is devastating. ... I fear for my safety upon his release.
Jourdan Atkinson’s letter was an appeal to the judge to not release Sean Combs from prison as he awaits sentencing. Cassie Ventura’s attorney also reportedly submitted a letter to the judge, expressing concern that Diddy could pose a danger to Ventura or others if released.
The record executive was repeatedly denied bond as he awaited trial, and Arun Subramania again on Wednesday rejected the defense’s request that he be allowed to return home following the jury’s verdict. Subramania cited the defense’s own admissions in his denial, saying:
You full-throatedly in your closing argument told the jury that there was violence here, and domestic violence is violence. You said this was a case that did have violence.
P. Diddy could have been sentenced to life in prison if he’d been convicted on the more serious federal charges; however the two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution carry a combined maximum sentence of 20 years. Jourdan Atkinson said that’s what she’s hoping for, as the caption to her Instagram post read:
I hope he gets the full 20yrs at the very least! But I’am not holding my breath. I’am not okay. I have not been okay. I do not feel safe. I do not know where to go from here. I stand with Cassie, as I always have. I do not understand the way this case was handled. We have all been put in danger. FOR WHAT?
The chef isn’t the only one who thinks retaliation is a real possibility. Diddy’s former bodyguard Big Homie has spoken out about his former employer, and with the possibility of the rapper being freed, the bodyguard felt it was safest to live “outside of the States,” and that already there have been “adequate and imminent threats to me.”
A sentencing date has been set for October 3, but a remote hearing will be held July 8 to discuss expediting that process. Stay tuned.
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