The former stepdaughter of Nicki Minaj’s brother gave horrifying accounts of being sodomized and raped while testifying in court on Monday in his rape trial.
The now 13-year-old-girl told the Nassau County courtroom of the grief she feels about her younger brother walking in during an alleged attack by Jelani Maraj when she was just 11 years old.
She testified that she ‘was on [her] forearms on the bed and [her] pants were pulled down’ when her then-eight-year-old brother caught Maraj in the act during one alleged attack. She said that she told her brother not to talk about it because she was scared they’d be ‘sent away.’
The girl, who has not been publicly named, also testified that Maraj, 38, allegedly threatened to have her taken away from her mother, Jacqueline Robinson, if she didn’t follow his plans. She testified that he allegedly instructed her on how to make anal sex less painful while raping her.
‘He would call me his puppet and [say] I had no say in what he did to me,’ the young girl said in court.
The former stepdaughter of Nicki Minaj’s brother, Jelani Maraj (above), 38, gave horrifying accounts of being sodomized and raped allegedly by him while testifying in court on Monday in his rape trial
Family: The now-13-year-old-girl testified on Monday that Jelani (above with Nicki) began abusing her when she was just 11 years old. She said in court that during the first alleged attack he raped her and ejaculated in her mouth in 2015
The girl said that the alleged abuse began in 2015 when her mother and Maraj lived on Long Island.
Maraj and Robinson were married in August 2015 in a wedding Minaj paid for, heading off soon after on a honeymoon Minaj paid for as well for her brother and his bride.
Four months into the union things took a devastating turn though when Maraj was arrested on a charge of rape.
On Monday, the girl testified that the alleged abuse started with Maraj rubbing his erect penis on her, but escalated when she went to his room one morning to greet him.
‘It was a Saturday morning,’ she said. ‘I had went to him to go say “good morning”. I had hugged him as usual. I went to go lie next to him as I usually do.
‘When I did that, he told me to go close the door. He told me to take off my pants. Then he told me to come under the covers with him and he started caressing me.’
The girl testified that he allegedly raped her and ejaculated in her mouth.
She said that Maraj then began to allegedly rape her after school frequently.
The alleged attacks began not long after he married the girl’s mother, Jacqueline Robinson, in a 2015 wedding ceremony that the rapper paid for (Above Minaj left, Robinson, center, and Maraj, right)
‘We would have sex in his bedroom, in my bedroom, in the basement,’ she said.
She explained to the court that Maraj would try to make her think the alleged attacks were her fault because she was sending him signals.
‘He had mentioned I was brushing myself on him and that I wanted it to happen,’ she said.
The girl also testified that over the summer Maraj started sodomizing her.
Maraj’s (above in arrest photo) lawyer has alleged that the girl’s mother instructed her children to lie to extort $25million from Minaj
‘He used lubricant and told me to breathe properly and not to clench so it wouldn’t hurt so much,’ she said. ‘It hurt. I told him to stop and tried to push him away.’
Among the evidence is a pair of the girl’s underwear with DNA matching the defendant.
Last week, a doctor called to the stand by the prosecution earlier this week also testified that the young girl’s medical exams showed tears that were consistent with penetration.
David Schwartz, Maraj’s lawyer, has alleged that the girl’s mother instructed her children to lie to extort $25million from Minaj.
He is facing four charges including a felony count of Predatory Sexual Assault Against a Child that carries a 10 to 20 year minimum sentence as a first-time offender if he is found guilty.
There are also two felony counts for Course of Sexual Conduct Against a Child and a misdemeanor count of endangering the welfare of a child.