Nicki Minaj’s Husband Won’t Be Allowed to Serve His Sex Offender Sentence at Their California Mansion

Nicki Minaj‘s husband Kenneth Petty is a convicted sex offender, and as a result, has had to register as a sex offender everywhere he lives. After failing to register as an offender when he moved to California with Minaj, Petty was sentenced for failing to register in his new home state. And while he tried to serve his sentence under house arrest, prosecutors are doing everything in their power to ensure Petty serves his sentence in prison.

Nicki Minaj’s husband Kenneth Petty is a registered sex offender

Kenneth Petty was Nicki Minaj’s high school sweetheart from their teenage years in Queens. In 1994, Petty was arrested and charged with attempted rape. He ultimately served four years in prison, and had to register as a sex offender.

In 2006, Petty was behind bars once again, this time for manslaughter. He ended up serving seven years in prison.

Minaj and Petty married in 2019 and welcomed their first child together in 2020. In March 2020, months before his son’s birth, Petty was arrested once again — this time for failing to register as a sex offender in his new home state of California. Petty pled guilty, and the court ordered him to wear an ankle monitor and abide by a curfew.  

He won’t be able to serve his sentence at home in California

In June 2022, TMZ reported on new legal documents filed by federal prosecutors in Petty’s case. According to the documents, prosecutors don’t believe that six months behind bars followed by supervised release is a sufficient punishment for Petty.

The prosecutors pointed out that any of Petty’s home confinement as part of his supervised release would be spent at his lavish Los Angeles mansion that he shares with Minaj.

They believe that the fact that it’s located in a “gated affluent community” and includes a pool, Minaj’s recording studio, and a luscious backyard means that it’s not an environment fit for punishment.

The US Attorney’s Office belives that Petty’s new luxurious lifestyle has led him astray, as prosecutors said that Petty kept up with his sex offender registry paperwork for nearly two decades until he reconnected with Minaj in 2019 and moved to California, saying, “Defendant began dating his wife, quit his job, moved to Los Angeles, and adopted an affluent lifestyle.”

According to TMZ, Petty told told the court he didn’t know the specific requirements to register as a sex offender upon leaving New York State. Prosecutors, however, said he did know. As a result, they’re recommending he serve 15 months of prison time, 5 years of supervised release, and pay $55,000 in retribution.

His accuser spoke out in 2021

In 2021, Petty’s accuser from his 1994 case, Jennifer Hough, spoke out about her experience in an interview on The Real.

Hough also alleged that Minaj tried to get her to recant her story. “In March of 2020, [Minaj] called me and said she got word I was willing to help them out in the situation,” Hough said. “I didn’t understand what she was referring to, and she offered to fly me and my family to L.A. I turned it down. I told her, woman-to-woman, this really happened and I haven’t spoken to her since.”