Sean Combs, the disgraced music mogul convicted of prostitution-related offences, has been accepted into a drug abuse rehabilitation program that could reduce his sentence by up to a year
Disgraced hip hop mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has entered into rehab behind bars – a move that could cut up to a year from his sentence.
The I’ll Be Missing You hitmaker is currently being held at the Federal Correctional Institution in Fort Dix, New Jersey, a low-security prison after he was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He was sentenced on October 3 to 50 months in prison and received 14 months’ credit for time already served.
Now, his spokesman, Juda Engelmayer, has confirmed the Bad Boy Entertainment founder had entered the programme and is “committed to sobriety, healing and trying to set an example for others”. He added: “Mr Combs is an active participant in the Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP) and has taken his rehabilitation process seriously from the start.”
Engelmayer said the rapper has been accepted into the programme and is working in the prison’s church library.
“He works in the chapel library, where he describes the environment as warm, respectful, and rewarding,” he said. According to the federal inmate locator, Combs is scheduled for release in May 2028.
Successful completion of RDAP could reduce that date, though he would still be subject to five years’ supervision after release, alongside drug testing and mental health treatment conditions. He is currently appealing his sentence.
Prosecutors had sought more than 11 years, citing what they described as a sustained pattern of coercion, manipulation and violent sexual abuse.
During the trial, former girlfriend Cassie Ventura testified that Combs used violence to force her participation in so-called “freak-offs” – drug-fuelled sex sessions involving sex workers he hired. She told the court she felt “disgusted” and “humiliated” afterwards.
At sentencing, US District Judge Arun Subramanian told Combs he “abused the power and control with women you professed to love” and said: “You abused them physically, emotionally and psychologically.” Combs apologised to Ventura and another former girlfriend, calling his conduct “disgusting, shameful and sick.”
Combs’ legal team reached out to President Donald Trump for a pardon after the conviction, according to a source close to the defence.
In an interview with Newsmax on August 1, Trump said he had once been “very friendly” with Diddy, but claimed Combs “was very hostile” during his presidential campaign.
Asked whether he would pardon the artist, Trump replied, “I would say so.”
Combs is living in a nine-person room inside a larger 200-bed unit.
Engelmayer said he has restarted “Free Game with Diddy,” a class designed to help inmates build confidence, learn entrepreneurial skills, and plan for employment after release.
He previously ran the programme while held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn.