Nicki Minajs brother charged with raping 12-year-old

The recently married brother of rapper Nicki Minaj has been charged with raping a child on Long Island, says New York Daily News.

37 year old Jelani Maraj was arraigned in court Thursday, on a first-degree rape charge and freed from a Nassau County jail on $100,000 bail (Ksh10.2 million), sources said.

Nassau County prosecutors say Maraj engaged in intercourse with a child under the age of 13 at 6:30 p.m. on November 30, 2015.

A source close to the case said: “The victim was someone he had access to.”

Mr. Maraj lives with his wife Jaqueline in a two-story home in Baldwin. The pair is raising two children — a girl about 12 years old and an 8-year-old boy, neighbours said.

It is however not clear if the kids are Jelani Maraj’s biological children or step-children.

Mr. Maraj’s wife ignored questions as she left her home with a young boy and hopped in a maroon minivan.

Neighbours said they were stunned by the charges.

“I was shocked!” a 73-year-old neighbor told the Daily News. “I was upstairs in the office. “My wife called and said, ‘You’ll never believe what I just heard on the news.’”

“They’re very friendly, always call me by my name and wave to me,” the neighbour added. “Nothing unusual. No rowdiness. No noise.”

Maraj is due back in court on December 9.

Nicki Minaj, one of hip-hop bigwigs, contributed about $30,000 (Ksh3.1 million) for her brother’s wedding at the Coral House in Baldwin in late August.

“I love my brother so much man. Can’t believe I cried during his wedding and his first dance like a punk,” 32 year old Minaj wrote on Instagram at the time.“May God bless him and his union,” she added.