Nicki Minaj’s Brother has been Sentenced To 25 Years In Prison
Jelani Maraj, brother to hip-hop music star Nicki Minaj has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison after being found guilty of predatory sexual assault against a child. Maraj was accused of sexually abusing his then-stepdaughter when she was 11-years-old and repeatedly raping her between April and November 2015.
Police said they found Maraj’s semen on his stepdaughter’s pajamas, but his defense team claimed the girl and her mother planted the evidence. Maintaining his innocence, Maraj and his lawyers argued that the allegations were fabricated in an attempt to extort $25 million from his famous sister.
Back in October, Maraj lost his bid to have the rape conviction set aside on the basis of “clear jury misconduct.” Maraj’s lawyer, David Schwartz, told Newsday that the verdict should be vacated he believed that “outside influences,” including social media posts and news articles, “affected the verdict.”
Judge McDonald reportedly determined that “not every misstep by a juror rises to the inherent and prejudicial level at which reversal is required,” and that Maraj’s team failed to meet the burden of proving any such misconduct.
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