Jury selection in the Jelani Maraj child sex abuse case began last week, and with the severity of the legal procedure kicks up a few more notches, his sister Nicki Minaj is reportedly still supporting him unconditionally.
According to People, the 38-year-old brother of rap's leading empress is expected to be tried for what could be three weeks in Long Island, New York, after he was charged with sexually abusing a child younger than 13 years old. Jelani has emphatically denied the allegations that first led to his arrest back in December of 2015, although he now faces charges of predatory sex assault against a child, course of sexual conduct and acting in a manner likely to injure a child. Leading up to the imminent trial, he has pleaded not guilty. If found guilty of the charges levied against him, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
“These are a bunch of lies,” his attorney, David Schwartz, originally told Newsday. “There’s a big, big motive to lie here which I can’t get into right now. But these are false accusations.” Although the lawyer did not give details as to the inner workings of his client's defense, he did speak highly of Minaj, the sister who posted the $100,000 bail for Jelani when he was first thrown in jail. She supposedly used two of her homes to back the money that was posted. Schwartz also stated that Minaj might attend part of her brother's trial and is still behind him "100 percent."
Although Minaj has never publicly commented on her brother's legal woes or given insight into whether or not the accusations against him are true, she had previously posted a photo of the two of them not long after he was arrested, which most took as a sign of support that would continue throughout the case, if and when it did go to trial. In the caption, she wrote: "I would cross the ocean for u. I would go & bring u the moon. Promise u. For u I will. I love my brother so much man. Can't believe I cried during his wedding and his first dance like a punk. May God bless him and his union [...]" You can check out that full post below.
