Kenneth Petty is trying to dismiss his attempted sexual assault accuser's New York lawsuit, developing a decades-long conflict that has experienced various alleged historical reevaluations. Jennifer Hough alleged he sexually assaulted her in 1994 when they were 16, and he faced a conviction of first-degree attempted sexual assault in 1995. Now, after Petty claimed Hough changed her story after admitting to lying about the assault in an alleged 1994 letter, TMZ got a response from the accuser via her lawyer Marjorie Mesidor.
In a recent court filing, Nicki Minaj's husband claimed his accuser wrote a letter to the District Attorney in 1994 asking to drop the charges against him and recanting the context of her story. Furthermore, per the alleged letter, Hough allegedly called her allegations "half true and half false," and said people around her blew the situation out of proportion.
Jennifer Hough's lawyer Marjorie Mesidor told TMZ her client never wrote or signed this alleged 1994 letter. The attorney claimed the move is not only suspicious, but also falls flat in the face of Kenneth Petty's guilty plea in 1995.
"This exact tactic was attempted by Mr. Petty in 1994, and it was widely disregarded by the judge then just as it will be disregarded by the judge now," Mesidor reportedly stated. "The concept of a 16-year-old minor producing a typewritten recantation without parental consent is highly suspicious on its face — and this is simply not her signature."
Read More: Lil Durk’s Racketeering Charges, Explained
Kenneth Petty's Lawsuit
Jennifer Hough sued Kenneth Petty in 2021 for alleged witness intimidation, harassment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She claimed he, Nicki Minaj, and their affiliates aggressively pushed for her to recant her accusations. Later on, Minaj was removed from the civil suit.
Petty is now attempting to dismiss the civil claims against him, including sexual assault, via this alleged 1994 letter. He claimed Jennifer Hough has changed her story a lot over the years, arguing she only pursued civil claims after his marriage to the hip-hop superstar.
We will see how the judge in this case will rule on these attempts to dismiss. The resurfacing of a decades-long conflict could be heading towards some significant resolution.
