WARNING: This story contains allegations of sexual violence and may affect those who have experienced it or know someone affected by it.

A judge declined Wednesday to set Sean (Diddy) Combs free on bond to await sentencing in his sex crimes case.

The bond decision came after a jury convicted one of U.S. hip-hop's celebrated figures of federal prostitution-related offences but acquitted him of sex trafficking and racketeering charges.

Combs, 55, sat stoic, hands at his lap, as he heard the bond decision. He has been behind bars since his arrest in September.

The Grammy-winning impresario stands convicted of two counts of a crime — transportation to engage in prostitution — that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. But jurors cleared him of charges that could have put him behind bars for life.

His lawyers argued that the acquittal on those counts changed the legal landscape enough that he should be freed on $1 million US bond. Prosecutors said he remained a flight risk.

Judge Arun Subramanian said the applicable law didn't allow for Combs' release at this point.

"For present purposes, the defendant is unable to meet his burden" to show that he's a "lack of danger to any person or the community," the judge said. He noted trial testimony about Combs' violent behaviour toward two former girlfriends.

Earlier Wednesday, Combs dropped to his knees and prayed in the courtroom after he was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have put him behind bars for life.

WATCH | What will the verdict mean for Diddy?:  

Diddy’s sex trafficking acquittal makes him 'even more untouchable': Variety editor

8 hours ago

Duration 4:16

Variety executive music editor Jem Aswad discusses what the Sean (Diddy) Combs trial might do to the music mogul's career. Once known for founding Bad Boy Records in the 1990s with icons like the Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans, Ma$e and 112, Combs was convicted of prostitution-related offences but acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges. Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/1.7575149.

The mixed result capped a sordid legal odyssey that shattered Combs' affable"Puff Daddy" image and derailed his career as a Grammy-winning artist and music executive, fashion entrepreneur, brand ambassador and reality TV star.

Combs was convicted of flying people around the country, including his girlfriends and paid male sex workers, to engage in sexual encounters, a felony violation of the federal Mann Act.

The charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, but Combs's lawyers said that under federal sentencing guidelines he'd likely face about two years in prison. Prosecutors, citing his violence and other factors, said the guidelines would call for at least four to five years. Jailed since his September arrest, he's already served nine months behind bars.

In a triumph for Combs, the jury of eight men and four women acquitted him of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges related to allegations that he used his money, power and frightening physical force to manipulate his girlfriends into hundreds of drug-fuelled sex marathons with the men.

The Combs defence team argued that the women were willing participants and that none of his violence justified the severity of the charges.

Defence sought release for Combs

Marc Agnifilo, a lawyer for Combs, asked that his client be immediately released because the federal Mann Act crimes were of a"vastly different nature" than sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey said he should remain incarcerated as a danger to the community and a threat to flee. She cited evidence of physical abuse and"prolific use and distribution of drugs" that emerged during the trial.

"I do believe we'll be seeking a substantial period of incarceration," Comey said.

Both sides filed written submissions expanding on their arguments before Subramanian's decision.

The judge will decide Combs' punishment. He suggested Oct. 3 as a sentencing date. But first, there will be a virtual hearing Tuesday on the defence's request for an earlier sentencing date.

Federal officials involved in the case responded to the outcome by noting that sex crimes"are all too present in many aspects of our society."

"New Yorkers and all Americans want this scourge stopped and perpetrators brought to justice," Manhattan-based U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton and Ricky J. Patel, who heads federal Homeland Security Investigations' New York office, said in a statement.

Jurors deliberated for about 13 hours over three days before announcing their verdict. It came after they said late Tuesday that they had decided on four counts, but were stuck on the racketeering one. At that point, the judge told them to keep deliberating and keep the partial verdict under wraps.

Combs did not testify at his trial, which featured 34 witnesses as well as videos of the rapper attacking his former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie.

Her lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, said in a statement after the verdict that"by coming forward with her experience, Cassie has left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice."

Later, he asked the judge in a letter to deny Combs bail, saying,"Ms. Ventura believes that Mr. Combs is likely to pose a danger to the victims who testified in this case, including herself, as well as to the community."

Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, testified for four days about her turbulent 11-year relationship with Combs, which began after she signed with his Bad Boy record label.

Cassie said Combs became obsessed with voyeuristic encounters, arranged with the help of his staff, that involved sex workers and copious amounts of baby oil. During the sex events, called"freak-offs" or "hotel nights," Combs would order Cassie to do things with other men that she found humiliating, she testified.

When things didn't go Combs's way, he would beat her, she said.

"I'm not a rag doll. I'm somebody's child," Cassie told Combs after he dragged her down a hotel hallway in 2016.

Another ex-girlfriend, testifying under the pseudonym"Jane," told the jury she repeatedly told Combs she didn't want to have sex with the men hired for their trysts.

"I'm not an animal. I need a break," she told him. Nevertheless, she said she felt"obligated" to comply with his demands, in part because he paid her rent.

The trial's most famous witness, rapper Kid Cudi, said Combs broke into his home in late 2011 after learning he and Cassie were dating. After his car was firebombed a few weeks later, Cudi — whose real name is Scott Mescudi — said he knew Combs"had something to do" with it. Combs denied it.

Combs's defence team acknowledged he could be violent, but argued prosecutors were intruding in Combs's personal life. In his closing remarks to the jury, Agnifilo said it wasn't illegal for Combs to make"homemade porn" with his girlfriends.