What Is the Mann Act? Everything to Know About the Federal Law and How It Relates to Diddy’s Verdict

After seven weeks in the courtroom, the jury in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial has reached a split verdict.

In September 2024, the music mogul was arrested on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. On July 2, Combs was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering, though he was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, as the jury found he violated the Mann Act.

The verdict came after a weeks-long, highly-publicized trial, which included intense testimonies from the handful of witnesses like Diddy’s ex Casandra “Cassie” Ventura. Ventura had previously filed a bombshell lawsuit against Combs, accusing Combs of rape, sex trafficking and domestic violence throughout their nearly decade-long relationship. Though Ventura and Combs reached a settlement in the lawsuit, the Bad Boy Records founder was accused of sexual assault by several more women in the months to follow, which he denied in a statement to PEOPLE in December 2023.

So, what is the Mann Act? Here’s what Diddy’s conviction could mean for his sentence.

What is the Mann Act?

The Mann Act, passed in June 1910, is a federal law “that criminalizes the transportation of ‘any woman or girl for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose,’ ” according to Cornell Law School.

According to NPR, the law’s official name is the White-Slave Traffic Act. However, it is commonly known as the Mann Act, named after its author, Rep. James R. Mann.

What did Cassie Ventura and “Jane” accuse Diddy of?

Both of the counts in which Combs was found guilty related to two of the prosecutors’ witnesses: his ex, Ventura, and another woman who testified under the pseudonym “Jane.”

Prosecutors argued that Combs coerced both Ventura and “Jane” to take part in “elaborate and produced sex performances” with male escorts known as “freak offs.”

When Ventura took the stand in mid-May 2025, she detailed the abuse she allegedly suffered, from the ways in which Combs “controlled” her life during their relationship to how he recorded her sexual encounters and used them as “blackmail materials,” per her testimony.

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On the second day of her testimony, she also addressed the now-infamous footage of Combs assaulting her at a hotel in 2016, which she testified left her with a black eye and bruises on her lip, arm and legs.

In early June, “Jane” — a single mother who said she made money as a social media influencer when she met Combs and grew financially dependent on him — took the stand and testified that Combs would supply her Ecstasy to stay awake during the “freak offs.”

“Jane” also told jurors that when she told Combs she was getting tired during “freak offs,” he would allegedly tell her, “You’re not getting tired on me, are you?”

Will Diddy serve time after being convicted of violating the Mann Act?

Combs’ conviction of the two counts of prostitution-related charges each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, per CBS News, though he still awaits his official sentencing. If he had been convicted on any of the other counts he was charged with, Combs could have faced up to life in prison.

Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and legal commentator, told PEOPLE that it’s likely Combs will get “little to no time.”

“He may even get time served and prostitution has a 10 year maximum,” he said. “But the fact that he was acquitted of the most serious counts. The government would not have brought this case had they thought they could only get prostitution.”

“[This was] a huge overwhelming win by the defense and a tremendous loss for the prosecution,” Rahmani continued. “There is no other way to spin it. This is the most expensive prostitution trial in American history.”

The lawyer explained that the rapper will likely stay in jail pending a pre-sentence report and a report from U.S. probation, but he expects that Combs’ attorneys will request a bond to have him released immediately — which “may” be granted.

“The judge may actually grant bond because he’s been acquitted of the most serious counts,” Rahmani said. “So I would expect them to make a renewed motion for bond. But even if that motion is denied, he’s going to be out soon.”

After the verdict was read, Agnifilo asked the judge to release Diddy, proposing he “leave the courtroom and walk outside,” though his immediate fate would be decided later in the afternoon.

Have other celebrities been prosecuted under the Mann Act?

Combs is not the first high-profile person to be convicted under the Mann Act. According to NPR, late heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson was among the first to be charged under the act after he was accused of transporting a prostitute from Pittsburgh to Chicago in 1913. Per the outlet, he was convicted and sentenced to one year and one day. However, according to ESPN, President Donald Trump posthumously pardoned Johnson in 2018.

Additionally, late comic and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin was prosecuted under the Mann Act in 1944, though he was ultimately acquitted, per NPR.

According to the outlet, late singer Chuck Berry was convicted under the Mann Act for transporting an underage girl, who was arrested on prostitution charges a week later, across state lines in 1959 — and then served 20 months in prison on a variety of charges.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.