Nicki Minaj's brother sentenced to 25-yrs to life for rape
What's the story
Popular American rapper Nicki Minaj's brother Jelani Maraj was on Monday sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl, at his home in Long Island (New York).
The sentencing comes more than two years after Maraj was found guilty of predatory sexual assault and child endangerment in November 2017.
Here are more details on this.
Testimony
Sexual abuse took place between April and November '15: Victim
The victim and the former stepdaughter of Maraj testified the details of the sexual assaults, that, according to her, started in April 2015 and continued until November that year.
She told the court that the assault occurred multiple times a week and sometimes even twice a day, while her mother was away at work.
Initially, Maraj had rejected the allegations.
Details
Maraj called victim his "puppet", attacked her physically
In 2017, the victim revealed excruciating details about the assault. She said Maraj called her "his puppet" and also disclosed he would attack her physically if she turned down his advances.
The hearing in the troublesome case went on for three weeks, after which Maraj was taken into custody.
For almost three years now, he has been awaiting sentencing after being adjudged guilty.
Evidence
DNA evidence recovered from victim's clothing convicted Maraj
Further, the prosecutors said that the DNA evidence recovered from the victim's pants was linked to Maraj. Moreover, the victim's brother also testified at the trial that he witnessed one such assault when he was just eight years old.
In his testimony, the boy said Maraj slapped him nearly 10 times and asked him not to disclose anything about what he saw.
Punishment
Sentence includes 364 days on grounds of endangerment of child
Nassau County Supreme Court Judge, Robert McDonald, refused to ease Maraj's punishment, despite his lawyer reading out a 2016 letter from his famous singer sister, wherein she has termed Maraj as the "most patient, gentle, genuine, giving selfless man I know".
"You ruined this child," the judge told Maraj.
Maraj's long sentence includes 364 days on grounds of endangerment of a child.
Quote
I'd like to apologize for the pain I caused: Maraj
Maraj, on the other hand, apologized for the felony and said that he had an "excessive drinking problem."
Reportedly, Maraj's father, an alcoholic and drug-addict burned down the family's house in Trinidad and Tobago in 1987. This prompted the family to move to New York City. Maraj was 10 years old at the time.
Now, Maraj's lawyer has said he plans to appeal.
Do you know?
Relations between Maraj, Minaj went south following the convictions
It has been reported that Maraj and Minaj had been quite close prior to his arrest. The rapper even paid her brother's $100,000 bail bond when he was first arrested in 2015. However, their relations turned sour following the convictions.