WASHINGTON — A judge sentenced Sean “Diddy” Combs to four years and two months in a federal criminal case that exposed the hip-hop mogul’s use of paid sex workers for drug-fueled, sometimes violent sex parties he called “freak-offs.”

Combs, 55, was convicted in July of flying people around the country, including his girlfriends and male sex workers, to engage in sexual encounters.

He was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have put him behind bars for life, but the sentence will keep one of the biggest names in music out of the limelight and behind bars for years to come. Prosecutors sought an 11-year sentence.

In a final word before the judge issued a sentence, Combs called his past behavior “disgusting, shameful” and “sick,” while apologizing to the people he hurt physically and mentally, as well as his children in the audience. He said his acts of domestic violence are a burden he will have to carry for the rest of his life.

Since September 2024, Combs has been in custody at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, the only federal prison in the city. While Combs will serve time in a federal detention center, it is currently unconfirmed if he will be completing his time in Brooklyn or another federal jail. The approximately 13 months he spent there will count toward his 50 month sentence.