PHOTOSNicki Minaj’s Brother Jelani Maraj Sentenced To 25 Years To Life In Prison For Child Rape
Nicki Minaj’s brother Jelani Maraj was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison on Monday on Long Island, New York for repeatedly raping his stepdaughter, according to HollywoodLife.com.
Jelani, 41, was sentenced by Judge Robert McDonald several months after he was convicted on charges of predatory sexual assault and acting in a manner injurious to a child for the abuse that began in 2015 when the victim was just 11 years old.
The Nassau County District Attorney released a statement to HollywoodLife saying, “Judge Robert McDonald sentenced Jelani Maraj to 25 years to life in prison this morning. The Nassau County District Attorney’s office sought the maximum sentences of 25 years to life in prison.”
The statement continued, “The defendant was convicted at trail 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).”
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It concluded, “Judge McDonald sentence Maraj to 25 years to life on the first count and 364 days on the second count. These sentences run concurrently. The trail opened on 10/19/17. Summed on 11/6/17. The jury deliberated for about two days. The verdict came in on 11/9/17. The first post-trail motion was filed by the defense on 1/16/18. Judge’s decision on the motion and hearing was entered on 12/5/19/”
On Thursday, November 7, Jelani was found guilty of predatory sexual assault against a child after a nearly month-long trail.
At the time of the trial, District Attorney Madeline Singas released a statement saying, “Justice demanded that this defendant be held accountable for these heinous acts, and we are thankful to the jury for their careful deliberation.” She added, “We hope that today’s verdict will help the family in the healing process and that it will close this terrible chapter in their lives.”
The victim testified that she was repeatedly assaulted as frequently as four times a week and sometimes twice a day at Jelani’s Long Island home in 2015. Jelani’s lawyers, however, claimed that the rape allegations were simply a scheme produced by the child’s mother as a way to get Nicki to pay $25 million in hush money. Neither Jelani nor the “Super Bass” singer testified at the trial.
