Nicki Minaj's Husband Kenneth Petty Pleads Guilty for Failing to Register as Sex Offender

Nicki Minaj’s husband Kenneth Petty has entered a plea deal for failing to register as a sex offender in California.

According to court records, obtained by PEOPLE, the 43-year-old pleaded guilty on Thursday (Sept. 8) during a virtual hearing with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release. Petty’s sentencing has been scheduled for Jan. 24, 2022.

In March 2020, Petty was arrested and charged for failing to register as a sex offender after he moved to California with Nicki in July 2019. He was a registered sex offender in New York but had not registered in California. At the time, he pleaded not guilty and posted $100,000 bail.

Petty was required to register as a level two sex offender after he was convicted for first-degree attempted rape of a 16-year-old girl in 1995. He served four years in New York state prison for the crime.

Last month, the woman he was convicted of trying to rape filed a lawsuit against him and his wife. Jennifer Hough claims that the couple harassed and tried to intimidate her, and offered her $500,000 to recant her rape accusation.

Petty is also suing the State of New York and its Criminal Justice Services division to have his name removed from the sex offender registry, saying he never was offered an opportunity to challenge it.