Back in July rapper Nicki Minaj's husband Kennth 'Zoo' Petty was sentenced to 1 year of house arrest and 3 years probation after failing to register as a sex offender after moving to LA with Nicki [click here if you missed that].
Now Zoo is suing to be removed from the register once and for all...
From All Hip Hop
According to court documents obtained by AllHipHop, oral arguments in the case are scheduled for January 6, 2023. Nicki Minaj’s husband aims to move forward with his lawsuit in an attempt to get his name removed from New York’s sex offender registry.
Kenneth Petty says he never received notice about a 2004 Sex Offender Registration Act hearing. Prosecutors insist Nicki Minaj’s husband was properly notified.
“Contrary to Plaintiff’s allegations, he received notice and was afforded all the process due to him after participating in his 2004 SORA hearing with his counsel,” prosecutors argue. “The court-certified transcript of this hearing attached as Exhibit A to Defendant’s Memorandum of Law in Support of Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss is both an official judicial record and integral to Plaintiff’s complaint, and thus can be considered on this motion, and it ends the case. Plaintiff acknowledged his identity on the record, and his counsel stated that Plaintiff did not contest his designation as a level 2 sex offender.”
Kenneth Petty claims someone forged his signature on the notice, which was sent to an address where he didn’t live because he was incarcerated at the time. Nicki Minaj’s husband seeks to argue he wasn’t present for the 2004 hearing.
“Although Plaintiff admits to his felony conviction for Attempted Rape in the First Degree in State Court, he still alleges that he was unaware of his sex offender status and his risk level redetermination until he was arrested in March 2020 out-of-state for failure to register [as a sex offender],” prosecutors note. “From 2013 through March 2020, Plaintiff essentially alleges he was unaware of the collateral consequences of his felony sex crime conviction.”
They add, “Plaintiff’s claims are meritless and the SORA hearing transcript demonstrates that Plaintiff is fourteen years late in pursuing this lawsuit. The statute of limitations has run and Plaintiff’s claims should be dismissed.”
