UPDATE (NOV. 10):
Jennifer Hough's attorney, Tyrone A. Blackburn, has provided this statement to XXL regarding Kenneth Petty's claims that she was a "willing participant."
"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 stated. "If Petty believed Ms. Hough was a willing participant he should have never plead guilty to attempted rape."
ORIGINAL STORY:
Nicki Minaj’s husband, Kenneth Petty, claims that he had consensual sex with his attempted rape victim and she was a "willing participant."
In court documents filed on Nov. 8 and obtained by XXL today (Nov. 10), Petty insists that he didn’t rape plaintiff Jennifer Hough and that she was a “willing participant” in the incident that happened 27 years ago. Additionally, Petty maintains that he did not plead guilty to rape but to attempted rape.
“He pled guilty to, and was convicted of, attempted rape. Defendant [Petty] denies that he ever raped Plaintiff [Hough] and Defendant denies all of Plaintiff's allegations of improper conduct and/or sexual assault,” the document reads. “Rather, the sexual encounter between Plaintiff and Defendant was consensual and Plaintiff was a willing participant.”
Petty contends that he is innocent of the charges and was forced to plead guilty to avoid a harsher sentence. "Petty pled guilty to attempted rape, despite his innocence, because he was a scared 16-year-old kid and was told that his sentence would be 20 years to life if he did not plead guilty to attempted rape," the document continues.
In 1995, Petty was convicted of first-degree attempted rape stemming from a 1994 incident in which Petty allegedly sexually assaulted a then-16-year-old Hough. Petty was also 16 years old at the time. He served nearly four years in prison on the rape charge and was ordered to register as a sex offender in the states he resides in. On Dec. 11, 1997, the New York State Board of Examiners of Sex Offenders designated Petty as a Level 2 offender based on his 1995 conviction.
In August of 2021, Hough who is now 43 years old, filed a lawsuit against Petty and his wife, Nicki, for allegedly harassing and threatening her directly and indirectly in an effort to prevent her from speaking on the rape case. She also filed a legal complaint related to Petty's 1995 attempted rape conviction as well.
For his part, Petty has denied all accusations by Hough. In his court filings, Petty claims that he has never contacted Hough or allowed his attorneys or associates to contact her to recant her statements about the rape.
"It should be noted that the majority of Plaintiff's [Hough’s] allegations do not concern Defendant Petty, do not concern improper conduct and do not support claims of intimidation or harassment," the document reads. "Nor does [Hough] explain how being contacted by attorneys and others, seeking for [Hough] to recant her allegations of rape, is improper."
"There is no allegation (or evidence) that [Petty] caused or requested that any of these people contact [Hough], and [Petty] has testified that he never asked anyone to communicate with [Hough], that he never obtained counsel for [Hough] and that he is unaware of anyone he knows obtaining counsel for [Hough]," the document continues further.
Kenneth Petty is currently being represented by attorney Steven D. Isser out of New York City in the case.
XXL has reached out to Jennifer Hough's attorney for a comment on this matter.