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The entertainment figure appeared holding his head and appearing dismayed when the magistrate handed down a four-year, two-month incarceration period in a New York courtroom on Friday for crimes linked to prostitution.

Although this punishment was far less than the lifetime incarceration he potentially faced when his legal proceedings started in spring, the defendant looked shocked by the result. The judgment was delivered just moments after the accused had pleaded with the presiding judge, stating he took full "responsibility and duty" for his actions and saying he was a changed man who would, if let go, commit himself to his family and the public.

The ruling was delivered with barely a noise in the court. His relatives and backers had been warned by a court clerk to keep any expression of their sentiments in check.

After the sentence was delivered, Combs appeared startled to find two court officers behind him, prepared to lead him back to the detention center in Brooklyn, where he has been held since his apprehension 13 months ago.

Outside the court, there was a palpable sense of deflation as not one of prosecutors nor his legal team had obtained the outcome they desired. Proceedings that had heard graphic accounts of sexual abuse, which the accused had asserted was willing, finished in a kind of anticlimax. The punishment handed down – 50 months – was 10 months less than a advisory group had recommended and less than half of the 11 years prosecutors had requested.

The defendant is projected to undergo only an additional three years incarcerated, with time he has already served deducted. However the term was also, evidently, much lengthier than the accused and his supporters had wanted, and perhaps even foreseen.

Combs was adjudicated of two counts of transportation to engage prostitution in July, allegations originating from forcing partners to participate in elaborate "freak-offs" involving sex workers. Yet on the graver charges – of running a organized crime scheme that prosecutors alleged were designed to satisfy a desire for power and command – he was found innocent.

"No matter of whatever anyone says, I know that I’m truly apologetic," the defendant told the court. "I strayed in excess, I became迷失 in my ego. As a result of my choices, I lost my freedom. I beg your judge for mercy."

Defense counsel had devoted a large part of the day contending that his accused was a devoted father who had lost grasp of his existence after an operation in the year 2000 that made him dependent to medication as his situation descended into chaos. Combs's six adult children addressed the court on his part.

But the judge was unconvinced by the arguments that the defendant should be freed, effectively, on time served. The defense tried every approach in that attempt, making contentions based on equity issues, youth adversity, and his previous role as a business and Black community leader.

Subramanian appeared unpersuaded by Combs's declaration that he was a changed man, pointing out that he had participated in an harmful "incident" with "Jane", a witness in the trial, subsequent to he published an social media message after the appearance of video revealing him striking another former girlfriend, the singer.

The court cited evidence offered by Jane, an public figure, in which Combs had directed her to "ingest this fucking pill, get out there, engage sexually [pointing to an prostitute]. You’re not going to spoil my night."

"You mistreated them, bodily, emotionally and psychologically," the judge told Combs. "Why did it occur for so prolonged? Because you had the influence and resources to keep it going, and because you evaded capture."

He lavished commendation on Ventura and Jane for testifying, describing them "strong individuals".

"Not one thing about this proceeding is favorable," the judge remarked, "other than the survivors who spoke out."

But still in its conclusion, the case of Diddy had an feeling of a carnival. Inside the courtroom, family members appeared attired elaborately, while beyond federal court in the city, backers and public figures each seemed to exclaim more forcefully than the following into broadcasting tools, each propelled by enthusiasm spurred by nearness to his fame.

Nonetheless these proceedings will be viewed – as an overextension by government lawyers who speculated on converting a prostitution-related trial into a criminal enterprise charge, or as an incident in long story about brutal coercion involving finances, intimacy and power – Combs himself may have expressed it best: he informed the court his conduct had been "appalling, shameful and disturbing".