Nicki Minaj‘s husband Kenneth Petty is taking legal action against New York prosecutors for allegedly unlawfully registering him as a sex offender. Petty filed legal documents to challenge his status, reports AllHipHop.com. In 1995, Petty was convicted of attempted rape in the first degree for assaulting Jennifer Hough in 1994 in New York. As previously noted, he was 15 at the time and the victim was 16. He served four years in prison and was ordered to register as a sex offender upon moving out of the state.
The outlet obtained documents revealing that in Petty’s battle against the state, oral arguments would be set for Jan. 6, 2023. He insists he had no knowledge about a 2004 hearing nor was he properly notified. However, prosecutors denied his claims and are seeking to have the case dismissed.
“Contrary to Plaintiff’s allegations, he received notice and was afforded all the process due to him after participating in his 2004 SORA hearing with his counsel,” they said. “The court-certified transcript of this hearing attached as Exhibit A to Defendant’s Memorandum of Law in Support of Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss is both an official judicial record and integral to Plaintiff’s complaint, and thus can be considered on this motion, and it ends the case.” Prosecutors added: “Plaintiff acknowledged his identity on the record, and his counsel stated that Plaintiff did not contest his designation as a level 2 sex offender.”
In his rebuttal, Petty alleges someone falsified his signature on the notice because he was incarcerated at the time. He also claims it was sent to an address where he did not live.
“Plaintiff’s counsel’s implication that this official judicial transcript is a forgery because Plaintiff’s incarceration records may show that Plaintiff was incarcerated at the time in various New York state correctional facilities and purportedly thus could not have attended the SORA hearing is nothing short of absurd,” prosecutors noted. “As the Court is well aware, incarcerated individuals are constantly being brought to court from prison for appearances in their cases.”
They add, “The state courts similarly routinely require the production of incarcerated individuals for court appearances, such as the SORA hearing at issue.”
Prosecutors also plan to argue that Petty has no case because the case’s statute of limitations have run out.
“Although Plaintiff admits to his felony conviction for Attempted Rape in the First Degree in State Court, he still alleges that he was unaware of his sex offender status and his risk level redetermination until he was arrested in March 2020 out-of-state for failure to register [as a sex offender],” prosecutors continued. “From 2013 through March 2020, Plaintiff essentially alleges he was unaware of the collateral consequences of his felony sex crime conviction.”
It continues, “Plaintiff’s claims are meritless and the SORA hearing transcript demonstrates that Plaintiff is fourteen years late in pursuing this lawsuit. The statute of limitations has run and Plaintiff’s claims should be dismissed.”
Petty wed Minaj in 2019, and the two welcomed their first son “Papa Bear” in September 2020. When the couple moved from New York to California, the new dad failed to register as a sex offender, which led to his arrest by U.S. Marshals in March 2020. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office dropped its case against him. But in federal court, he was sentenced to three years of probation and a year of home detention in July of this year.
Many in the industry have expressed concern over Minaj’s marriage and Petty’s criminal history, out of concern over the latter tainting her accomplished career. In September 2021, Hough appeared on “The Real” to speak out about the lawsuit she filed against Minaj and Petty for humiliation. The 44-year-old accused the pair of harassing her. She alleges they offered her $20,000 to recant her story. The case against Minaj was dropped earlier this year in January, but Petty’s is still reportedly pending.
