Sean “Diddy” Combs spoke “briefly” with his children from prison: Source

While Sean “Diddy” Combs awaits trial behind bars, he is only allowed brief contact with his seven children.

Combs, 54, is currently in jail after being arrested on Sept. 16 and charged with sex trafficking, organized crime and transportation for the purpose of prostitution. He pleaded not guilty but was denied bail twice.

A source familiar with the situation told PEOPLE that the music mogul – who is father to sons Quincy, 33, Justin, 30, and Christian, 26, and daughters Chance, 18, Jessie and D'Lila, 17, and Love, 23 months – “was able to speak briefly by phone with family members and his children.”

“He is very concerned about his children and their well-being,” the insider says. “He has three minor children, two of whom now have no living parent because he is in prison. Four of his seven children have no parents available because he is in prison.”

Combs, who has maintained his innocence, had children Christian, Jessie and D'Lila with model and actress Kim Porter, who died in 2018 at the age of 47. Quincy was Porter's son with Al B. Sure!, and Combs later adopted him.

Justin is Combs' son with stylist Misa Hylton, while Chance is the daughter of Sarah Chapman. The youngest child, Love, was born in October 2022 to Dana Tran.

A second insider close to the family says the Combs children are “in a state of crisis and shock” following their father’s arrest.

“It's heartbreaking to see the kids in this state,” the source says. “This is their father. But to them, he's not Diddy – he's daddy. He's always been a loving, devoted father.”

During Combs' arraignment in a New York court on Sept. 17, where he pleaded not guilty, his son Christian sat in the third row and read a copy of the 14-page indictment against his father. When the judge ruled that the star would be held without bail until his trial, Combs turned to Christian and his family and placed his hand over his heart.

Combs, one of the most powerful managers in the music industry, is accused of forcing women to take part in lengthy, staged sex performances, so-called “freak offs”, which sometimes lasted several days.

According to prosecutors, the “I'll Be Missing You” rapper allegedly used drugs such as cocaine, ketamine and oxycodone, as well as his influence, to coerce and intimidate women into participating in the “freak-offs,” which were sometimes caught on camera without the victims' knowledge.

When his homes in Los Angeles and Miami were searched in March, authorities seized more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil among the “freak-off supplies.”

In a $50 million bail package rejected by a judge, Combs' attorney Marc Agnifilo proposed a $50,000 bail for Combs.

During the arraignment, Agnifilo also said that the star “is in treatment and therapy for things that he needs treatment and therapy for, with the utmost respect, and that's what he's getting.” Agnifilo did not provide details on what exactly Combs is in treatment for, citing confidentiality.

“He will fight this with all his energy and all his power and the full confidence of his lawyers, and I expect a long fight with a good outcome for Mr. Combs,” Agnifilo said in court on September 17.

A hearing for Combs is scheduled for October 9 at 2 p.m.