The stunning acquittal of Sean “Diddy” Combs on the most serious counts of sex trafficking and racketeering surprised many, but not experienced federal prosecutors. Instead, he was merely convicted on two counts of violating the archaic 1910 Mann Act for transporting persons across state lines for purposes of sex work. The jury’s refusal to buy the government’s more ambitious case suggests discomfort with the creeping conceptual expansion of “sex trafficking” to persecute anyone who in any way assists a sex worker. Most people so accused are themselves former or current sex workers who lack Diddy’s resources to retain a first-rate legal defense team, so we can expect this prosecutorial abuse to continue.
Former Prosecutors Say Feds “Overreached” in Charging Diddy with Sex Trafficking
