Nicki Minaj’s husband under house arrest for failing to register as a sex offender

Kenneth Petty, husband of rapper Nicki Minaj, was sentenced to three years of probation and one year of home detention this Wednesday after failing to register himself as a sex offender - according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Petty, 44, was also given a $55,000 fine by a Los Angeles judge as part of the offence. He pleaded guilty to the federal charge in California in September of last year.

His registration was part of a plea deal after he was convicted of attempted rape in New York in 1994. Petty was condemned to four and a half years in prison and required to register as a sex offender within five days whenever he moves states. Minaj and Petty moved to California in 2019.

A year at home is tame compared to the federal prosecutor’s call to have Petty serve a year to 15 months in jail; however, the surge in Covid cases within the prison system was enough a reason for the judge to settle with detention. According to a report from Rolling Stone, Petty expressed guilt for breaking the law, stating that he “takes full responsibility” for whatever happens and that he is “ashamed and embarrassed.”

This incident is not the only legal issue Petty is facing. Both Minaj and Petty were sued in October 2021 by Jennifer Hough, the woman Petty was convicted of attempting to rape in 1994. She filed a lawsuit against the couple, accusing them of intimidation and harassment to renounce her claim that Petty raped her.

The suit is still ongoing but Minaj has since been dismissed from it earlier this year.