Nicki Minaj's brother Jelani Maraj gets 25 yrs to life in child rape case: All about him

Nicki Minaj is a popular American Rapper and pop-singer. She is the sibling of Jelani Maraj who recently has been in the news for wrong reasons. Jelani Maraj has been sentenced to 25 years to life for child rape.

According to reports by Nassau County DA, the 41-year-old and is proven guilty of raping his stepdaughter who was just 11-year-old when the abuse began. The DA further told the press that the defendant has been convicted at trails of both counts submitted to the jury, Predatory Sexual Assault Against a Child in violation of PL 130.96 (A-II felony) and Endangering the Welfare of a Child in violation of PL 260.10 (A misd). Read on to know five facts about him and the case.

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Here are five facts to know about Jelani Maraj

1. He was convicted in 2017 of sexually abusing his former stepdaughter when she was only 11. The victim at the age of 13 took a stand for herself and revealed a detailed account of what she went through for years.
2. Jelani Maraj threatened the victim and her brother to stay quiet about the events. The victim’s brother who was eight at the time, walked in on Maraj abusing the victim. The two were threatened about being ‘sent away’ from their mother.
3. Sister Nicki Minaj did not testify at her brother’s trial. Despite reports about the rapper's presence to testify in favour of her brother, she did not turn up at the trials. However, there have been reports that she had accompanied her mother on her visit to Maraj to the prison.
4. Jelani Maraj grew up in the Caribbean. He was born in Trinidad and Tobago. Their father was a drug addict and alcoholic with a violent temper. The two siblings had to move to their grandmother's house when their father burned their house down.
5. Jelani Maraj would be appealing his conviction. David Schwartz, who is the lawyer of Jelani Maraj, said they would be appealing Maraj’s excessive sentence. According to David, there was clear juror misconduct amongst other issues.

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Image Credits: Youtube Screengrab