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Rapper Desiigner has been ordered to register as a sex offender after pleading guilty Thursday to a count of misdemeanor indecent exposure, multiple outlets have reported.
The 26-year-old rapper, whose real name is Sidney Royel Selby III, was reportedly questioned by police but not charged after exposing himself on an April 17 flight from Tokyo to Minneapolis.
After the incident, Desiigner announced he was putting his career on hold to seek professional help and accepted a plea deal.
In a criminal complaint cited by Entertainment Tonight, an FBI agent stated that Desiigner “obscenely and indecently exposed his genitals and masturbated” aboard the international Delta flight after a flight attendant noticed that the rapper’s “penis was outside of his sweatpants.”
The rapper reportedly “put his penis in his pants” after the flight attendant reprimanded him, only to resume exposing himself five minutes later.
The complaint claimed Desiigner exposed himself a third time before a flight attendant issued him an FAA violation card, which informs passengers that their behavior “appears to be in violation of federal law,” according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office regarding the incident.
“Once seated with his companions, [Desiigner] told his Security Guard that he was ‘bugging,’ had ‘messed up,’ and was ‘sorry,’” stated the criminal complaint, according to ET. “He had engaged in no additional acts of exposure or masturbation during the flight … [and] apologized.”
Representatives for Desiigner did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment. However, his defense attorney noted in a court filing that multiple factors, including dehydration, exhaustion, marijuana and his medications all “contributed in some way to the poor decisions Mr. Selby made on that airplane,” the Star Tribune reported.
In an Instagram Stories post after the incident, the rapper wrote that he had to be “admitted in to a hospital” while he was overseas and attributed his behavior to “meds” he was given. The FBI agent claimed in court, however, that Desiigner “did not appear to me to be impaired” during questioning, ET reported.
Desiigner was sentenced to two years of probation, 120 hours of community service, a $5,000 fine, regular drug testing and a variety of mental health evaluations in addition to registering as a sex offender.
There is not compelling evidence that sex offender registries are effective: They do not improve public safety, but they do make it very difficult for people on a registry to find housing and work.
In addition to meeting the conditions of his plea deal, Desiigner is subject to visits from his probation officer at any time. He is also obligated to work at least 30 hours per week and is prohibited from owning, possessing or having access to a firearm.
Need help with substance use disorder or mental health issues? In the U.S., call 800-662-HELP (4357) for the SAMHSA National Helpline.