Nicki Minaj’s husband arrested for not registering as sex offender

Kenneth Petty, husband to Nicki Minaj, Trinidad-born rapper, has been arrested for failing to register as sex offender, despite being earlier indicted for the offence.

According to TMZ, Petty turned himself into federal custody on Wednesday, following the indictment, and was subsequently arrested.

He was said to have failed to register as a sex offender in California, after relocating from New York.

Petty was in 1995 convicted for first-degree attempted rape and spent four years behind bars at the New York state prison.

Following his release, he was expected to register as a sex offender but he did not. Petty moved into California in July 2019 but was arrested in November in the same year for not registering yet as a sex offender.

He was consequently arrested and would later be released on a $20,000 bond.

But following his release, Petty still failed to register as expected of him, prompting another arrest. He faces up to 10 years in prison again if convicted on the federal charge.

According to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) a sex offender is “required to update their registration in each jurisdiction they reside, are employed, or attend school.”

Failure to register is considered a federal crime.

It is believed that he pleaded not guilty to the recent charge while his lawyer will be posting a $100,000 bond later on Thursday.

Petty is expected to have a status conference on March 23, to determine the next steps in the trial, which will take place on April 28.

Minaj had last year confirmed her marriage to Petty, her childhood boyfriend, after flaunting their relationship on social media on numerous occasions.