Nicki Minaj's older brother has been accused of
raping a child younger than 13 several times between April
and November.
Jelani Maraj, 37, of Baldwin, was arraigned on Thursday in a
Long Island hospital on charges of first-degree rape and
first-degree sexual conduct against a child, a Nassau County
court official said. He was arrested on Tuesday but suffered
an unknown medical condition that required him to be
arraigned two days later at Nassau University Medical
Center.
It was not immediately clear if Maraj entered a plea, but he
was released on $100 000 bail. His New York City attorney
did not return repeated telephone calls seeking comment on
Friday.
Investigators wrote in court documents that the victim was
younger than 13 and that Maraj raped the child several
times. Some details in the court documents were blacked-
out by a judge.
A spokesperson for the district attorney's office declined to
comment on the allegations.
Minaj, who won two American Music Awards last month for
favorite artist and album-rap/hip-hop, did not immediately
comment through a representative.
Minaj, who was raised in nearby Queens, attended her
brother's wedding last summer on Long Island, according to
numerous media reports.
