The attorney for rapper Desiigner has clarified reports that his client is required to register as a sex offender. According to Ryan Garry, there is no mandatory registration that Desiigner must abide by. "Many news outlets have incorrectly stated that he is required to register as an absolute condition of his probation. They are wrong. Since this was a federal misdemeanor, the sentencing judgement states that if the State of California or some other government entity requires that Mr. Selby must register as a sex offender, then he must. However, the parties in this case have come to the legal conclusion, after significant research and consultation with lawyers in California, that this misdemeanor conviction is not one that will cause Mr. Selby to have to register as a sex offender," Garry told PEOPLE.
On September 12, Desiigner pled guilty to a charge of "obscenely and indecently exposed genitalia in a public place". The charge stemmed from an April 2023 incident in which Desiigner was caught masturbating on a commercial flight from Japan. He was sentenced to two years probation, 120 hours of community service, and a $5000 fine. Furthermore, he must undergo psychiatric evaluation and routine drug testing. Additionally, he is prohibited from owning a firearm.
Is Desiigner A Sex Offender?
TMZ is believed to be the first outlet to erroneously report that Desiigner would be required to register as a sex offender. Per the outlet's initial report, "According to the docs, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, the judge ordered the "Panda" rapper to register as a sex offender going forward." However, numerous other outlets, HotNewHipHop included, also picked up the story. As mentioned by his attorney, this was initially reported as an "absolute condition of his probation."
During sentencing, Desiigner's attorneys asked the sentencing judge to be lenient when it came to travel restrictions. This, they argued, was so that the rapper could continue performing while serving his suspended sentence. Based on what has been reported, it appears that this request was accepted by the judge. While Desiigner said he was retiring from music after the death of TakeOff, he has returned to the industry this year. His 2023 tracks include "Young N Ballin" and "Mafia Water".
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