Nicki Minaj’s brother Jelani Maraj was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for child rape.
Nicki Minaj’s elder brother has been in and out of court for the last four years after being arrested in December 2015 on child rape charges. The shocking charges stemmed from allegations that he sexually assaulted his 11-year-old stepdaughter at the time. The disturbing details emerged during the 2017 trial that took place in New York in which the girl’s then 10-year-old brother detailed how he had seen the rape occur in his sister’s bedroom.
While on the stand, the boy told the Nassau County Supreme Court that he had been threatened by Maraj to keep his mouth shut about the horrific event. “Jelani said I wouldn’t see [my mother] again if I told on him. His face was kind of mad,” the young boy said.
The rape survivor, herself, detailed how her stepfather had begun to brutally attack her four months into the marriage and warned her to keep quiet. Prosecutors had alleged that the assault would occur four times a week, with DNA belonging to the 40-year-old found on the little girl’s pajama pants and medical examinations showing evidence of penetration. This was enough for the jury in the matter who after two days of deliberations, convicted Jelani Maraj of predatory sexual assault against a child and endangering the welfare of a child.
After facing a minimum sentence of 15 years to life imprisonment, the Trinidad and Tobago-born native will now spend at least 25 years behind bars and will likely be in prison until he is in his 60s.
Throughout the entire ordeal, Nicki Minaj has refrained commenting on her brother’s court proceedings, though it has been reported that she foot the bill for his lawyers.
