New York Judge Denies Bid To Set Aside Child Rape Conviction Of Nicki Minaj’s brother

A Nassau judge recently denied a bid from rapper Nicki Minaj’s brother, Jelani Maraj, to set aside a verdict convicting him of raping his now-former stepdaughter.

According to the judge, any jury misconduct wasn’t enough for a reversal.

Nassau District Attorney’s Office spokesman Brendan Brosh said prosecutors would “reserve comment for sentencing,” per Newsday. Maraj’s trial attorney, David Schwartz, said: “there was clear jury misconduct.” He added that “outside influences,” including social media posts and news articles, “affected that verdict” of “at least a few” jurors.

The judge did not agree.

Maraj was convicted by a jury back in 2017 for sexually assaulting his stepdaughter, who was a child at the time. When the trial came to an end, the defense claimed the allegations were fabricated to try to extort $25 million from his famous sister, Nicki.

According to his alleged victim, Maraj called her “his puppet” and raped her repeatedly between April and November 2015 while her mother was at work. She was reportedly just 11 years of age when the rapes began.