Rapper Nicki Minaj's older brother has reportedly been charged with raping a 12-year-old child. Jelani Maraj, 37, was arraigned on Thursday on a first-degree rape charge and first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child on Long Island, according to Newsday. He was later freed from a Nassau County jail on a $100,000 bail.
"The victim was someone he had access to," a source close to the case told the New York Daily News.
New York law states that a person is guilty of course sexual conduct in the first degree when a legal adult engages in "two or more acts of sexual conduct" over a period of more than three months with a child under than age of 13, according to FOX News. This means that if these accusations are true, Minaj's brother would have reportedly sexually assaulted the 12-year-old child more than once over a period of time.
Maraj was released from the Nassau County Jail on Dec. 3, but the correctional officer would not give any further information, according to FOX. He is due back in court on Dec. 9.
Maraj had just married his longtime girlfriend Jacqueline Robinson on Aug. 22. "I would cross the ocean for u. I would go & bring u the moon. Promise u. I love my brother so much man," Minaj, 32, captioned a photo of herself and her brother on his wedding day. "Can't believe I cried during his wedding and his first dance like a punk. May God bless him and his union. Tonight has been one of my favorite nights of all time. I do anything to see my brothers smile."
Minaj has not yet commented on the incident. The story is still developing.
