Nicki Minaj's brother Jelani Maraj is sentenced twenty-five years of prison on 27 January 2020 for raping his ex-step-daughter. The judge finalized the charge for 'ruining' the 11-year-old girl (at the time of the assault) from Jelani's repeated rape.
Jelani, along with his lawyer, David Schwartz, attended the Long Island courtroom after the conviction of sexual assault against the child. Nassau County Supreme Court Judge Robert McDonald criticized Jelani for his unethical action citing 'You raped this child. You raped her over and over again,' and ruined her.
The victim mentioned that Jelani carried out his predatory assaults when her mother was at work, which led her to become suicidal. However, Jelani did not move back to deny the allegations claiming that the victim's mother obtained $25 million from Minaj concerning the assault.
The accusations over Jelani were filed back in 2017 after a couple of years that the victim's brother noticed him (Jelani) sexually abusing his sister in 2015. Similarly, the court had already handed down the guilty verdict for the abuse in 2015. The victim had testified at Jelani's 2017 trial while accusing him of running a predatory sexual abuse on her.
Regarding the twenty-five-years sentence to Jelani Maraj, his lawyer David Schwartz responded that they would appeal the excessive sentence citing that there was juror misconduct amongst other issues. However, David wrapped the concept of misconduct and “issues."
What Does The Victim's Mother Say?
Victim's mother is none other than Jelani Maraj's ex-wife, Jacqueline Robinson. Jacqueline stood by her daughter's side as she found Jelani raping her 11-year-old daughter in 2015.
As per Jacqueline, Jelani even enraged domestic violence besides sexual abuse. She mentioned that he was concerned that his step-daughter could have spilled the tea about abuse to Child Protective Services.
Jacqueline was unknown about the abuse until the social workers revealed the truth, and authorities took her daughter to the hospital to administer a rape kit.
Right after Jelani denied the rape allegations, the victim's brother elaborated that Jelani used physical violence with him to wrap the abuse.
Jaqueline, too, came forth in support of her daughter, revealing that Jelani's alcoholic behavior not only resulted in an assault on her daughter but also ruined their relationship earlier before they even got married. However, they officiated their wedding on 22 August 2015, which now is broken.
Who Is Jelani Maraj? Net Worth Details
Jelani Maraj is an older brother of an American rapper and actress, Nicki Minaj. Jelani and Nicki grew up with their two siblings, Micaiah, and Brandon in Trinidad and Tobago.
Sources revealed that Robert was a short-tempered man with drugs and alcohol addiction. He burnt down their house back in 1987, after which Jelani and his siblings moved to Saint James to live with their grandmother, while his mom, Carol Maraj, moved to Queens, New York. Carol was a gospel singer and a songwriter. Besides, she worked as an accounting clerk and as a foreign exchange teller at the National Commercial Bank.
Jelani Maraj with his mother Carol and brother, Micaiah (©: GettyImages)
Moving away from Jelani's family background and early life, there are no glimpses of his professional life. However, his sister Nicki Minaj has an estimated net worth of $80 million that she derives as a rapper, actress, and model.