Nicki Minaj will be a star witness at her brother, Jelani Maraj’s, child rape trial.
According to the New York Post, the rap goddess is the defense team’s Hail Mary. In opening statements presented in Nassau County, New York, Maraj’s legal team claimed that the mother of the alleged victim offered to make the charges disappear if the rapper handed over $25 million.
The little girl’s mother, Jacqueline Robinson, “related to Nicki that, ‘I can make the charges go away for $25 million,’ ” said lawyer David Schwartz.
As previously reported, Maraj is accused of raping his 11-year-old stepdaughter multiple times in 2015 soon after he married Robinson. In graphic detail, Robinson’s daughter told officials that Maraj was raping her as often as four times a week, prosecutors said.
Meanwhile, in her opening statement, Assistant District Attorney Emma Slane told jurors that the young girl’s brother, who was 8 at the time, previously reported accounts of abuse to child services. The boy claimed he’d been beaten after walking in on his new stepdad having sex with his big sister in a spare bedroom, the prosecutor alleged.
Child services called authorities; a search warrant at the house recovered a pair of the child’s pajama pants, soiled with Maraj’s DNA, the prosecutor said. “He had sex with that 11-year-old girl sometimes four times a week,” added Slane.
However, according to Schwartz, it was a setup. “Why would [Robinson] lie and force her children to lie? I can give you 25 million reasons why,” the defense lawyer told jurors. “Jackie became obsessed with Nicki Minaj — getting her hands on her money,” the lawyer added. “An evil Jackie targeted him,” the lawyer said, pointing to Maraj, “trying to get him to marry her, and then just four months after they were married, we have this.”
As for where Minaj stands with all this, she’s stuck by her older brother, posting his $100K bond when he was busted in December.
Although Minaj appearance date has not been released, multiple outlets report that she’ll be called on her brother’s behalf.
