Brother of Nicki Minaj on trial for rape
Nicki Minaj’s brother recently rejected an offered plea deal in a Nassau Country, New York court meaning he is now facing rape charges and will go to trial.
Jelani Maraj was offered a deal of 15 years to life. He was indicted for child rape back in April 2016 and stands accused of raping a 12-year-old victim multiple times in 2015. He will now stand trial in Nassau County this year where he'll be putting his life in the hands of the jury who will ultimately decide his fate.
Pre-trial hearings are to begin within the next few weeks. His lawyer David Schwartz made a statement, saying: “he is choosing to go to trial because he is not guilty of these allegations and has faith in our system of justice.”
As the legal process has unfolded, it was originally falsely reported that Minaj paid for her brother’s bond when in fact it was their mother who put up her house and two $50,000 promissory notes to get her son out of jail. Maraj’s wife filed for divorce amidst the case’s proceedings. Maraj, 37, is facing felony child rape charges, including predatory sexual assault against a child and first degree sexual conduct against a child and could face life in prison if found guilty.
Previously, in a letter to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, lawyers representing Jelani Maraj said they had strong reason to believe his 12-year-old accuser was having sex with another adult male, and requested all evidence that shows she had or tried to have sexual contact with men over the age of 17. They also asked for emails, cell phone records, texts, social media records and any other evidence that showed her communicating with or meeting up with with older men.
Maraj’s lawyers also asked the DA for any statements that the alleged victim, witnesses or anyone else made that corroborated their claim that the accuser had sex with someone else other than Maraj. They also say that after Maraj’s arrest, Nassau County’s Child Protective Services opened two investigations focused on him over allegations of child abuse. One investigation found evidence that he mistreated or abused a child, and the other report deemed the claims “unfounded.” Maraj’s lawyers believe that the results that cleared Maraj show that Child Protective Services has evidence that could clear their client, and asked to review his entire file. If they get their way, then perhaps the case will not even make it to trial, but for now things look very precarious for Mr. Maraj.
