Kenneth Petty, who was convicted of first-degree attempted rape in New York back in 1995, has pleaded not guilty to the federal crime, but turned himself in to authorities on March 4.
- March 10, 2020
AceShowbiz - Nicki Minaj's husband Kenneth Petty has formally notified California authorities of his status as a sex offender following his recent arrest.
The 41-year-old, who was convicted of first-degree attempted rape in his native New York back in 1995, turned himself in to authorities on 4 March after U.S. Marshals indicted him for failing to register as a sex offender following his move to California with Minaj last summer (July 2019).
He pleaded not guilty to the federal crime and was released on bond, and as he awaits his April trial, Petty appears to be trying to make amends.
According to the New York Post's Page Six, he recently reported his status to staffmembers at the California Department of Justice, where he had to pose for a new mugshot, with his offence listed in the database as "attempted rape by force or fear."
Petty, who wed Minaj in October, served almost four years in a New York prison for the sex attack.
His undocumented status in California had initially been flagged in November, when he was pulled over by traffic police in Beverly Hills.
At the time, he was taken into custody and charged by local officials, but the state case against him has since been dropped to allow federal authorities to pursue the charge at a higher level, reports Pitchfork.com.
Minaj has yet to break her silence over her man's recent legal troubles, but she previously defended Petty's actions as a teen when the news first surfaced at the start of their romance in December 2018, insisting he and his alleged victim were both minors and romantically involved at the time of the incident.
"He was 15, she was 16... in a relationship," she posted on Twitter. "But go (off) Internet. Ya'll can't run my life. Ya'll can't even run ya'll own life (sic)."
