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Nicki Minaj's Husband Sentenced to Home Confinement for Failing to Register as Sex Offender
Nicki Minaj’s husband Kenneth Petty will be spending the next year under home confinement for failing to register as a sex offender in California.
A federal judge sentenced the 44-year-old on Wednesday. Along with one year of home detention, Petty received three years probation and a $55,000 fine after taking a plea deal last year and admitting that he failed to register as a sex offender after he moved to California with Minaj in July 2019, according to TMZ.
Petty was convicted in 1995 for first-degree attempted rape and served almost four years in New York state prison for the crime. He was a registered sex offender in New York but had not registered in California.
Prosecutors had called for Petty to get 15 months in prison and didn’t feel that home confinement would suffice as punishment since Petty lives with Minaj in a mansion in a gated Calabasas community.
Minaj was not at the sentencing hearing, but she sent a letter on her husband’s behalf.
“I have no doubt my son would be traumatized if his father would be taken out of his life,” she wrote, according to Rolling Stone. “I’ve known Kenneth Petty for over 20 years, when I first met him I knew he needed guidance… I’ve seen his genuine evolution first hand.”
Prior to being sentenced, Petty apologized for failing to register in California. “I take full responsibility for whatever happens today,” he said. “I’m ashamed, embarrassed and disrespected my wife’s brand. There are no excuses, I broke the law. I thank you for giving me the chance to speak, to apologize.”
After his sentencing was announced, Minaj shared her love for her husband, posting photos of him and their 2-year-old son Papa Bear on Instagram.
Petty still faces a lawsuit from Jennifer Hough, who he was convicted of attempting to rape in 1994. Hough sued the couple over alleged harassment and intimidation tactics, but Minaj was dismissed from the suit earlier this year.