The brother to rapper Nicki Minaj, who was convicted for the rape of his stepdaughter in 2017, will now be headed to jail for life.
What We Know :
- On January 27th, Jelani Maraj was sentenced to 25 years to life in a New York Court. Maraj was found guilty and charged on sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child.
- Jelani Maraj was convicted for endangerment of a child as well as sexual assault back in 2017 when he was accused of raping his 11-year-old step daughter in the year 2015.
- There was a great amount of evidence that supported the conviction of Maraj, such as evidence that showed DNA from Maraj on the child’s pajama pants. The child’s younger brother also testified that he witnessed one of the assault incidents.
- In 2018, the attorney appealed the court’s decision saying that the Nassau County jurors were biased and that there was jury misconduct.
- This defense of the appeal was overturned by the judge who claimed there was not enough supporting evidence.
- In 2019, after Maraj asked the court to reconsider his rape conviction he spoke in court saying he had an “alcohol problem” and suffered from gout, anemia, and hypertension. The judge however overturned his request, stating that “the child’s life will never be the same and she’s hoping the correct conviction can bring the family peace”.
Although Nicki Minaj’s name is linked to the case, the rapper has never publicly supported her brother or spoke up about his charges in essence to the crime. Minaj did go visit him in 2017, and has since mentioned that it was in support of her mother.
