AFTER dating for less than a year, rap star Nicki Minaj married Kenneth “Zoo” Petty in October 2019.
In March 2020, Petty was arrested by US Marshals after he failed to register as a sex offender in his new home in California.
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Petty was born on April 7, 1978, in Queens, New York.
He is a music industry professional who made headlines for his relationship with Nicki.
Petty has served time for manslaughter and the attempted rape of a 16-year-old girl.
According to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, in September 1994, the NYPD’s Sex Offender Unit arrested Petty for “sexual intercourse” with a 16-year-old female.
The official conviction record states he used a “knife/cutting instrument” during the attempted rape.
He was sentenced to 18 and 54 months in prison, but it’s unclear how much time he actually served.
He remains a registered sex offender in the state of New York.
He also spent seven years behind bars after he was found guilty of manslaughter in 2006.
According to the criminal complaint from the Queens County District Attorney, he pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter following the fatal shooting of Lamont Robinson.
He was released in May 2013 and was on supervised release for five years until May 2018.
Petty was arrested in March 2020 by US Marshals on an indictment for failing to register as a sex offender.
The 41-year-old was in federal custody after turning himself in to the Marshals during a court appearance but was later released on $20,000 bond.
Petty’s legal troubles stem from his move to California from New York in July 2019.
In November 2019, he was pulled over by Beverly Hills Police and was only registered as a sex offender where he had previously lived.
He was required under law to register in California after the move but failed to do so.
On September 9, 2021, NBC News reported Petty pleaded guilty to failure to register as a sex offender in California.
Petty had initially pleaded not guilty to the single-count indictment but later changed his plea, court documents show.
He’s scheduled to be sentenced in January 2022.
In July 2021, Nicki took to Instagram to announce that she and her husband Petty were expecting their first child.
The caption read, #Preggers.
In the photo, Nicki is showing her baby bump and is sporting a two-piece.
In a second post, the rapper is seated on a pink sofa with a two-piece on with a caption that read: “Love. Marriage. Baby carriage. Overflowing with excitement & gratitude. Thank you all for the well wishes.”
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In October 2019, the 38-year-old rapper shared an IG post revealing that she had tied the knots with Petty.
She shared a short video of matching Bride and Groom hats and mugs, captioning the clip: “Onika Tanya Marai-Petty 10-21-19.”
The news of their marriage came out just weeks after Nicki told her fans she was “retiring so she can start a family.”