Nicki Minaj’s brother was sentenced Monday to 25 years to life in prison for sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl.
Jelani Maraj was convicted in 2017 of predatory sexual assault and child endangerment. His lawyer appealed the conviction, alleging jury misconduct.
At trial, the victim testified she was raped repeatedly in her Long Island home in 2015 while her mother was at work. The girl’s younger brother told the court he witnessed one of the assaults and investigators had recovered Maraj’s DNA from the victim’s pyjamas.
Before hearing his fate, Maraj told the court he had a drinking problem and asked for “mercy.” He apologized “for the pain that I caused.” His lawyer read a 2016 letter from Minaj describing her brother as “gentle, genuine, giving (and) selfless.”
Nassau County Supreme Court Judge Robert McDonald said Maraj “ruined this child.”
Jelani Maraj, pictured in a 2015 booking photo. Nassau County Police Department
Minaj has not publicly commented on her brother's sentence. The rap star has not tweeted since Nov. 5, 2019. (Her current pinned tweet reads: "Put your penis away")
In 2015, the Daily Mail reported that Minaj paid her brother’s bail following his arrest and, although she “hasn’t commented publicly,” the rapper “showed her support” by including Maraj in a family selfie she shared online.
Minaj threatened to sue Canadian TV personality Jesse Palmer in 2018 after he mentioned her support for Maraj during an episode of Daily Mail TV.