NEW YORK — Sean “Diddy” Combs dropped to his knees and prayed in the courtroom after he was acquitted Wednesday of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have put one of hip-hop’s celebrated figures behind bars for life. The rapper was convicted of lesser prostitution-related offenses and denied bond by the judge as he awaits sentencing.

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 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.

He was convicted of flying people around the country, including his girlfriends and 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’ lawyers said that under federal sentencing guidelines he’d likely face about two years in prison. Prosecutors, citing Combs’ 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-fueled sex marathons with the men.

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

Marc Agnifilo, a lawyer for Combs, asked that his client be released on bond immediately to await his sentencing, saying the acquittals had changed the calculus about whether he needed to be held. Prosecutors opposed the release request.

Judge Arun Subramanian denied it, saying Combs — for now — hadn’t met the burden of showing by clear and convincing evidence a “lack of danger to any person or the community.”

Combs, 55, sat stoic, hands at his lap, as he heard the bond decision.

There’s no date yet for sentencing, when the judge will decide on Combs’ punishment for the prostitution conviction.

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 video of the rapper attacking his former girlfriend Cassie, the R&B singer born Casandra Ventura.

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.”