[Music] Sha Diddy Combs just made an appearance in federal court in New York after pleading not guilty to a long list of charges ranging from sex trafficking to racketeering. Emma Wiro joins us from the fact-check team. Combs faces potentially a decade, or even life in prison, if convicted of these charges, correct?
Yeah, he does. It could be a long time, and it's all going to depend on how this trial turns out. For the racketeering and conspiracy charge, the maximum penalty is life in prison, but in 2022, people convicted of RICO crimes served an average of around 10 years in jail, so it's going to depend on that.
For the sex trafficking charge, the Department of Justice says the average sentence ranges from 15 to 30 years, but there's a mandatory 15-year minimum sentence that's set by federal law for victims who are 14 and under. So, it could be a lot more based on the number of victims; we're just going to have to wait and see. Then, for the transportation for prostitution charge, sentences do range from 5 to 10 years, but it really does depend on the circumstances for that one.
So, 10 years is the statutory maximum under federal law. We'll have to see what comes out in the case. We know Combs was denied bail after several attempts.
Is it common for someone charged with these types of crimes to be denied bail? From my research, it does sound like it is pretty common. According to the Bail Reform Act, bail may be generally denied if a defendant is determined to be a flight risk or a danger to the community, and prosecutors for Combs's case did argue that he was a flight risk.
Experts say in cases where the defendant could be facing as much as a life sentence, it's pretty common for them to be denied bail, even if they do have the money to post it. Emma, thank you. We know there's a lot of research on this.
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