A judge has ordered the case regarding Nicki Minaj’s husband Kenneth Petty and Jennifer Hough, who accused Perry of allegedly raping her in 1994, to mediation to settle the lawsuit Hough filed against the couple.
According to The Source, Judge James R. Cho referred both parties to mediation on Tuesday, December 6.
“The case is referred to Court-annexed mediation. Parties to select a mediator by 12/20/2022 and complete mediation by 3/6/2023. Parties may participate in the mediation remotely,” the court record said.
Both parties are expected to participate in “limited written discovery that would facilitate settlement discussions.” Failure to settle outside of court will reportedly cause the case to go to trial.
As previously reported in BLACK ENTERPRISE, Hough filed a harassment lawsuit against Minaj and her husband, accusing them of witness intimidation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, harassment, assault, battery, sexual assault, and sexual harassment.
In the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. district court for the eastern district of New York, Hough recounted the 1994 incident where she claimed Petty, 16 at the time, grabbed her at knifepoint and sexually assaulted her inside a home in Queens, New York.
The Guardian reported that Hough claimed the couple attempted to intimidate her into withdrawing the accusations against Petty and Minaj’s bribery, which allegedly included a $500,000 offering to get her to drop the story.
Petty has served four and a half years in prison after he pleaded guilty to attempted rape. He was arrested in March 2020 for failure to register as a sex offender in California.
The Source reported that Petty pursued an attempt to sue the State of New York and the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services over his sex offender status.
Oral arguments in the case are set to begin on January 6, 2023.
Minaj and Petty share a son, who was 11 months old at the time the accusations surfaced.