Nicki Minaj's husband Kenneth Petty faces jail for failing to register as SEX OFFENDER
Nicki Minaj's husband Kenneth Petty could be jailed for a year for his failure to register as a sex offender in California, as prosecutors are moving to sentence him. Court documents reveal that Petty failed to register as a sex offender since moving to the Golden State with Minaj in 2019. Petty was convicted for allegedly attempting to rape a 16-year-old girl he attacked in 1994 in New York City. According to the law, he must register whenever he moves.
"Having previously been convicted of attempted rape, defendant knowingly failed to register as a sex offender upon moving to California," prosecutors said in a recent filing. "'The timing of [the] defendant's lapse in registration is concerning, given that it occurred when [the] defendant began dating his wife, quit his job, moved to Los Angeles, and adopted an affluent lifestyle."
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Petty is due to appear at a sentencing hearing on July 6, Insider reported. Prosecutors have also argued that he must pay a $55,000 fine. Petty, who is now 44, was accused of the attempted rape of Jennifer Hough. Minaj has repeatedly insisted that Petty was wrongfully convicted. She also said that Hough, now 43, had planned to recant her statement in a letter to a judge.
However, Hough sued both Petty and Minaj in New York for intentional infliction of emotional distress and sexual assault. She accused the couple of trying to pay her $500,000 and asking her to recant the allegations in exchange. They also allegedly tried to force her to help them get Petty off of the registry.
In 1994, Petty allegedly approached Hough while she was on her way to school. Court records obtained by The Blast say that he came up behind her, pressed an object into her back and ordered her to "keep walking". He then allegedly led her to his home, forced her upstairs and began to rape her at knifepoint. Hough eventually escaped after striking Petty with a bottle.
Petty was convicted in 1995 on four counts, including attempted rape in the first degree, second-degree assault, second-degree unlawful imprisonment, and criminal possession of a weapon. He was sentenced to four years in prison. In 2006, he was put back behind bars after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the shooting death of Lamont Robinson. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but released in 2013 after serving seven years.
The case has now moved to California, where Minaj and Petty live. In January, Minaj was dropped as a defendant but prosecutors are pursuing action against her husband. Petty and Minaj tied the knot in 2019. They had a child the following year.
"Defendant has been completing sex offender registration documents for nearly 20 years," prosecutors wrote in the filing. "Over the course of two decades, he was repeatedly warned that if he moved to another state, it was his responsibility to follow any local, city, state, federal, or international laws regarding registration."