More than two decades after he was accused of raping fellow New York resident Jennifer Hough, Nicki Minaj's husband, Kenneth Petty, continues to deny any wrongdoing. In court documents obtained by several media outlets, Petty continues to refer to Hough as a "willing participant."
“I never raped the Plaintiff and I deny her accusations of rape contained in the Amended Complaint,” Petty wrote, according to Complex.
“I also deny all of Plaintiff’s allegations in the Amended Complaint that I committed any improper conduct, sexual abuse and/or sexual assault. The sexual encounter between Plaintiff and I, which occurred 27 years ago, was consensual and Plaintiff was a willing participant. I did not force Plaintiff into a house, I did not force Plaintiff to have sex with me and I did not sexually or physically assault Plaintiff in any way. Nor did I ever threaten Plaintiff.”
The plaintiff, Hough, has presented an account of what took place and it does involve Petty threatening her. On September 16, 1994, Hough says she was on the way to school when Petty approached her. She claims that Petty put a weapon against her back, forced her into a nearby home and raped her. Petty was arrested later that day and charged with first-degree rape. Eventually, he pled guilty to attempted rape and was sentenced to 18 to 54 months in prison.
“I pled guilty to attempted rape, despite my innocence, because I was a scared 16-year-old kid and was told that my sentence would be 20 years to life if I did not plead guilty to attempted rape,” Petty claims in court documents, according to Complex.
Hough has maintained her recollection of what happened on that day. She has also said that Minaj and Petty have threatened her and attempted to bribe her in hopes that she would recant her rape accusations. As a result, she filed a lawsuit and participated in a public interview on The Real.
Hough's attorney, Tyrone A. Blackburn, has also shot down the statements that Petty made in his court filings.
“A willing participant would not run 20 blocks to school after a sexual encounter and tell the school security/police that she was raped,” Blackburn told XXL.
“If Petty believed Ms. Hough was a willing participant he should have never plead guilty to attempted rape.”
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