Nicki Minaj’s brother Jelani Maraj jailed for raping his 11-year-old stepdaughter
28 January 2020, 12:38
Nicki Minaj's brother has been sentenced to 25 year to life on predatory sexual assault and child endangerment charges.
Nicki Minaj's brother, Jelani Maraj has reportedly been sentenced to 25 years to life in jail after being found guilty on of predatory sexual assault against a child.
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Maraj also was found guilty on endangering the welfare of a child.The sentencing has just been settled after Maraj was convicted in 2017.
According to XXL, Maraj was accused of sexually abusing his then-stepdaughter when she was 11-years of age. He allegedly repeatedly raped her between April and November of 2015.
Prosecutors claimed they found Maraj's semen DNA in the child's pajamas. However, Maraj's defense team hit back and claimed the girl's mother had planted the evidence.
Pleading his innocence, Maraj and his lawyers argued against the allegations and claimed they were fabricated in an attempt to extort $25 million from famous sister Nicki Minaj.
The rape conviction was declared "clear jury misconduct" back in October 2019.
During an interview with Newsday Maraj's lawyer, David Schwartz, revealed that the verdict should be vacated due to "outside influences" including social media posts and news articles, "affected the verdict".
On Monday (Jan 27) Maraj apologised in court “for the pain that I caused. I had an excessive drinking problem.”
Judge McDonald reportedly determined that "not every misstep by a juror rises to the inherent and prejudicial level at which reversal is required".
The judge concluded that Maraj's defense team failed to prove against the claims.
One of Maraj's number lawyers said he suffered from health issues including hypertension, gout and anaemia and requested a minimum sentence of 10 years to life.
