Nicki Minaj’s husband messed up…and this isn’t a petty crime.
According to TMZ, Kenneth Petty was arrested by U.S. Marshals on Wednesday for failing to register as a sex offender. In fact, Petty had already been in trouble with the Los Angeles County D.A. for not registering as required by California state law back in November, when he was pulled over in a traffic stop. (Petty was registered in New York state, but not in California.)
After the November arrest, he was subsequently released on a $20,000 bond. However, since he still didn’t learn his lesson and register, he’s now in trouble with the Feds. On Wednesday afternoon, Petty appeared in federal court and pleaded not guilty.
As TMZ further reported:
Prosecutors wanted Petty placed on house arrest, but his attorney objected and instead Petty is being required to wear an ankle monitor. He will also have a curfew.
Petty’s lawyer says he’s going to post $100,000 bond later today. Petty will also be under pretrial supervision and has already surrendered his passport. His travel will be restricted to Southern California.
Petty also can’t use drugs, even marijuana from legal dispensaries in L.A.
One Twitter user reposted a now-deleted pic of Minaj and Petty at what appeared to be Trinidad Carnival, with Minaj boasting about her husband not making social media a priority despite the backlash he has received. You know, except for that petty detail that his parole stipulation mandates that he isn’t allowed to use social media. In 2017, the Supreme Court determined that access to social media is a constitutional right and sex offenders are certainly allowed to use it if they’re not breaking the law to do so, unless they are on parole or probation.
Plus, it’s not lost on people that this is the second person in Minaj’s personal life that has been in the news regarding some form of sexual assault. At the top of the year, Minaj’s brother Jelani Maraj was sentenced to 25 years to life for sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl.
Petty is scheduled to appear at his next hearing on March 23.