Nicki Minaj's Husband Kenneth Petty Pleads Guilty To Failure To Register As A Sex Offender In California, Faces Maximum 10-Year Sentence
Nicki Minaj's husband Kenneth "Zoo" Petty pleaded guilty to failure to register as a sex offender in California.
On Thursday, September 9, the 43-year-old entered a plea deal during a virtual hearing with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, per the records obtained by OK!.
Petty is reportedly facing a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison in addition to a lifetime of supervised release. His sentencing has been scheduled for January 24, 2022.
Petty — who was previously convicted of first degree manslaughter — initially got into trouble with the law in 2019 when he was pulled over by the Beverly Hills Police Department, and they determined he was not registered as a sex offender in California.
Though Minaj's husband was registered in New York, he never registered in California, where he now resides.
He was arrested last March on an indictment for failing to register as a sex offender and, at the time, pleaded not guilty. Petty was released after posting $100,000 bail.
- Erika Jayne Wants Kyle Richards to Be 'Eviscerated' at the 'RHOBH' Reunion
- Andy Cohen Hints Jen Shah May Have Been Fired From 'The Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City' After Pleading Guilty To Wire Fraud
- Kyle Richards Sobs Over Rumors Mauricio Umansky Cheated on Her During Their Marriage: 'They Made Me Feel Insecure'
He was required to register as a sex offender after he was convicted in 1995 of first-degree attempted rape of a 16-year-old. Following his conviction, Petty served four years in a NY state prison.
Petty is reportedly a level two registered offender in New York, meaning he's considered to be a "moderate risk of repeat offense."
Last month, Petty's alleged rape victim, Jennifer Hough, filed a lawsuit against the couple, accusing Petty and Minaj — who wed in October 2019 at a Beverly Hills Courthouse — of attempting to intimidate her into retracting her rape claim.
The lawsuit also reportedly accused the duo of inflicting intentional "emotional distress" upon her and alleged they try to bribe Hough with $500,000 to change her story. She claimed she began to feel "unsafe" in her home, as the rapper's lawyers would show up at her house and try to make her take back her accusation.
After another alleged failed $20,000 cash bribe, the alleged victim moved out of her home last August, and reportedly still continues to live in fear of the couple's retaliation, OK! reported.
Despite their money and power, Hough refused to give in to the couple, as she told The New York Times in August: "If I lie now and say that I lied then, you know what that does? Do you know what that's going to say to my two little girls, or even my sons?"
