May 10, 2017: Here is a complete timeline on Nicki Minaj’s brother’s rape case:
Nicki Minaj’s brother, Jelani Maraj, was arrested in December 2015 for raping a 12-year old girl from April to November 30, 2015. Carol Maraj, their mother, bailed Jelani out using two homes under Nicki’s name. Nicki posted a photo on instagram of her bowling with her brother on December 30, 2015 after he was released on a $100k bail. Nicki paid $30k for her brother’s wedding to his now ex-wife. She is also believed to be paying for Jelani’s legal defense team. In court papers, Jelani lists his occupation as an employee for one Nicki’s companies.
Jelani’s first defense team included Benjamin Brafman, who is known for getting Diddy a “not guilty” verdict for bribery and possession of illegal weapons despite there being multiple witnesses, getting Jay Z only 3 years probation after he stabbed one of his producers, and being part of Michael Jackson’s 2004 child molestation case defense team. This team was fired after DNA evidence of his semen on the girl’s pajama pants was found and he was given a plea deal for 15 years to life in prison. Jelani rejected the deal and has decided to continue facing trial in court because he believes that he is innocent and that the girl’s vaginal injuries that are consistent with rape were from having sex with other men older than 17, not him.
Jelani’s lawyer after firing his first team was David Schwartz, who specializes in getting the best deals possible for those accused of sex crimes.
Jelani’s trial was supposed to start on May 8th, but is being delayed until the late summer or early fall because his defense team asked for a couple more months to prepare for the trial. He will be due back in court in July.
Schwartz is currently filing motions to dismiss the case and suppress evidence from the prosecution side. He claims that the case is a complete setup and that the DNA evidence of Jelani’s semen on the girl’s underwear actually works in his favor because it was only a tiny particle and found 9 months after the allegations.
Schwartz says Jelani is innocent because there is no blood on his underwear even though the victim told prosecutors that she was on her period. Plus, the prosecutors recovered hair fibers, but none were linked to Jelani.
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