ANALYSIS-Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyers acknowledged abuse in successful trial strategy

By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK, July 2 (Reuters) - With their client caught on tape beating one of his former girlfriends, Sean "Diddy" Combs' lawyers at his sex trafficking trial never sought to deny that he was physically abusive.

Instead, their trial strategy focused on convincing jurors that there was no direct link between what they called domestic violence and two of Combs' ex-girlfriends' decisions to take part drug-fueled sex marathons with paid male escorts.

Legal experts said the argument appeared to have been successful, with jurors voting to acquit Combs, 55, on the most serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. Combs was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, a lesser offense.

"His attorneys were smart and they owned the bad facts," said Anna Cominsky, a professor at New York Law School. "They fought on the things that mattered and it paid off."

The verdict spared Combs, who founded Bad Boy Records and is credited with popularizing hip-hop in American culture, a potential life sentence.

He faces up to 10 years in prison on each prostitution count. Prosecutors acknowledged in a court filing that federal sentencing guidelines appeared to recommend a maximum sentence of about 5-1/4 years. Combs' lawyers argued that two years would be the outer limit.

The jury's deliberations took place behind closed doors, and the reasoning of their decision is not known.

But legal experts said the defense put forth a strong case that Combs' romantic relationships may have been combustible and at times violent, but that his conduct did not meet the definition of sex trafficking.

Defense lawyers argued that both of his former girlfriends who testified, the rhythm and blues singer Casandra Ventura and a woman known in court by the pseudonym Jane, loved Combs and consensually took part in the sexual performances to make him happy.

'A DIFFERENT SCENARIO'

To convict Combs of sex trafficking, prosecutors would have had to show that Combs used force, fraud or coercion to compel Ventura and Jane to take part in ecstasy-fueled, days-long sexual performances with male sex workers sometimes known as " Freak Offs ." Both women testified that during the encounters, Combs would watch, masturbate, and occasionally film.

The case differed from recent high-profile sex trafficking convictions, including those of British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell and rhythm and blues singer R. Kelly .

Those cases involved underage victims, meaning prosecutors did not have to prove a lack of consent in order to secure a conviction. At Combs' trial, prosecutors had the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that adult women, who said they loved Combs and had consensual sex with him many times, did not consent to the "Freak Offs" on certain occasions.

"This was a very different scenario than what we usually see with sex trafficking cases," said Sarah Krissoff, a former federal prosecutor in Manhattan and current partner at law firm Cozen O'Connor. "These were messy, toxic, violent relationships with lots of drama."

Combs' defense lawyers did not deny the sex acts or his abuse. But they emphasized that Ventura and Jane were independent women capable of making their own choices.

During cross-examination of the government's witnesses, the defense brought jurors' attention to sexually explicit text messages in which the women expressed affection for Combs.

Both said that at times took part in the sexual performances to make Combs happy, and that they participated well after brutal beatings by Combs, who was also known during his career as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy.

"She was always free to leave," defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo said in his closing argument on June 27, referring to Ventura. "She chose to stay because she was in love with him, and he was in love with her."

The Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office, which brought the case, said in a statement after the verdict, "The disturbing reality is that sex crimes are all too present in many aspects of our society."

'THEY DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE'

Prosecutors had argued that Combs' violence and threats, combined with the fact that the male escorts were paid, meant his conduct amounted to sex trafficking.

They pointed to testimony from both Ventura and Jane that Combs threatened to cut off financial support or release sex tapes if they sought to end the encounters, and showed jurors a hotel surveillance video of Combs attacking Ventura in a hallway.

"No was never an option for Cassie," prosecutor Maurene Comey told jurors in her final argument on June 27. "No could mean losing her career, her livelihood, her home, her physical safety."

To try to undermine the defense argument that Ventura and Jane took part in the "Freak Offs" consensually, prosecutors called forensic psychologist Dawn Hughes to testify as an expert witness.

Hughes testified on May 21 that victims of sexual violence can form a "trauma bond" with their perpetrators that can make it difficult for the victims to leave an abusive relationship.

In his closing argument, Agnifilo urged jurors to rely on their own intuitions about human relationships rather than expert testimony.

"They didn't always like him, but they loved him," Agnifilo said, referring to several of the government's witnesses. "They didn't want to leave him."