Nicki Minaj’s husband, Kenneth Petty, pleaded guilty to failure to register as a sex offender in California, court documents show.
Petty had initially pleaded not guilty to the single-count indictment but later changed his plea, court documents filed on Thursday show. He’s scheduled to be sentenced in January.
His attorney could not immediately be reached on Friday.
Authorities in Beverly Hills arrested Petty following a November 2019 traffic stop after learning that he had moved from New York to California and failed to submit his sex offender status. He was released after posting $20,000 bail, but was arrested again last year after he was indicted in connection with the incident. He was released from federal custody on a $100,000 bond.
According to court documents, Petty relocated to California in July 2019 and as required by law was supposed to register as a result of being convicted of first-degree attempted rape in New York in April 1995. Petty, who was 16 at the time of the crime, served nearly four years in a New York state prison.
The victim sued him and Minaj in August, alleging the couple tried to force her to recant her account of the incident.
The woman, who has publicly identified herself as Jennifer Hough, said in the suit that Petty and Minaj began contacting her and members of her family following his arrest in California. The “Starships” rapper offered one of Hough’s family members $500,000 if Hough said the rape did not happen, according to the lawsuit.
On another occasion, Hough was offered $20,000 if she signed a prepared document recanting her statements about Petty, the suit says.
Minaj and her husband have not publicly commented on the claims made in the lawsuit. The rapper previously defended Petty, writing in an Instagram post that he and the victim were “in a relationship” — a claim Hough denies. Minaj also told fans on her Queen Radio show that her husband was wrongfully accused of rape.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
