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The music mogul appeared covering his face and appearing stunned when the court imposed a four-year, two-month prison term in a New York court on Friday for crimes linked to prostitution.

Although this term was significantly shorter than the lifetime incarceration he potentially faced when his conspiracy case began in spring, Combs looked shocked by the outcome. The sentence was delivered just minutes after the accused had appealed with Judge Arun Subramanian, asserting he took full "responsibility and responsibility" for his actions and affirming he was a reformed man who would, if released, devote himself to his relatives and the public.

This decision came down with barely a noise in the courtroom. Combs' family members and backers had been warned by a court clerk to control any expression of their emotions in check.

After the sentence was read, Combs seemed taken aback to see two court officers positioned close, set to lead him back to Metropolitan detention center in the borough, where he has been imprisoned since his apprehension 13 months ago.

Outside the chamber, there was a noticeable sense of deflation as not one of prosecutors nor defense attorneys had obtained the result they desired. The case that had featured graphic accounts of misconduct, which the Combs had claimed was consensual, concluded in a kind of anticlimax. This term delivered – four years, two months – was below than a review committee had recommended and below 50% of the 135 months prosecutors had sought.

Combs is expected to serve only three more years in prison, with time he has previously completed removed. However the sentence was also, clearly, much lengthier than the accused and his supporters had desired, and maybe even expected.

The music executive was convicted of two counts of facilitating prostitution in mid-summer, charges stemming from compelling partners to participate in elaborate "events" involving male prostitutes. Yet on the more serious accusations – of managing a mafia-like conspiracy that the prosecution alleged were created to fulfill a need for control and dominance – he was found innocent.

"No matter of whatever someone says, I feel that I’m sincerely apologetic," he informed the judge. "I strayed in extremes, I became迷失 in my self-importance. As a result of my decisions, I forfeited my liberty. I plead your judge for clemency."

Defense counsel had used much of the day arguing that his accused was a dedicated parent who had lost control of his personal journey after surgery in two decades ago that left him addicted to painkillers as his life descended unmanageable. Combs's six adult children spoke on his account.

However the magistrate was unmoved by the legal pleas that Combs should be released, in essence, on completed incarceration. They exhausted all options in that effort, making contentions rooted in social fairness, childhood trauma, and his previous role as a business and African American figure.

The judge seemed unpersuaded by the defendant's declaration that he was a changed man, noting that he had participated in an abusive "incident" with "Jane", a participant in the trial, subsequent to he shared an social media apology after the release of recording showing him beating another former girlfriend, the artist.

The court cited testimony offered by the witness, an influencer, in which Combs had instructed her to "ingest this expletive medication, proceed, suck his dick [pointing to an escort]. Do not wreck my time."

"You harmed them, physically, emotionally and mentally," Subramanian told the defendant. "For what reason did it happen for so prolonged? Since you had the power and resources to continue it, and as you evaded capture."

He lavished accolades on Cassie and the witness for coming forward, calling them "brave women".

"Nothing about this trial is favorable," the judge stated, "other than the survivors who came forward."

But still in its finale, the proceedings of Diddy had an air of a show. In court, relatives appeared clothed ornately, while outside federal court in the city, advocates and online personalities each seemed to shout more forcefully than the following into live-streaming phones, each propelled by enthusiasm induced by nearness to Combs's celebrity.

However Combs's trial will be recalled – as an overextension by government lawyers who bet on transforming a conspiracy proceeding into a organized crime allegation, or as an chapter in extended narrative about harsh manipulation involving wealth, sex and control – the defendant himself may have expressed it most accurately: he informed the proceedings his behavior had been "revolting, disgraceful and sick".