On Monday a 10-year-old boy who reportedly saw Jelani Maraj rape his sister testified in court to the disturbing incident he says he accidentally witnessed back in 2015.
Maraj, who was indicted back in April of 2016, is an older brother of Nicki Minaj.
The boy, who was eight at the time of the alleged incident, says he was looking for a pencil when he walked in on Maraj (the kids' stepfather) having sex with his sister in a spare bedroom. He says her underwear was around her ankles at the time, and Maraj's "private parts" were making contact with her. "I thought it wasn't right," he testified. "It looked weird to me so I ran upstairs."
He says that after this happened, Maraj found him and slapped him in the face "about 10 times." He says that Maraj did this because the boy answered in the affirmative about whether or not he'd seen anything. "He asked me if I had seen anything. I said, 'Yes,'" he said. "He slapped me on the cheek." From there he says Maraj told him that if he ever told anybody what he saw he would never see his mom again.
As if those allegations weren't troubling enough, the 10-year-old says he would occasionally hear his bedroom door abruptly close, followed by bed springs creaking in his sister's room right next to his.
Last week a doctor undoubtedly helped the prosecution's case by stating that the victim's medical records heavily suggest she was having sex. That testimony came in addition to a pair of pajama pants that belonged to the girl, which prosecutors say had Maraj's DNA on them.
Defense attorneys have stated that the case against their client stems from a plot by the children's mother Jacqueline Robinson, who they say was trying to extort $25 million from Maraj's famous sister. During cross-examination, the boy denied that his mom had ever physically abused him.
Those same defense attorneys have said that Minaj will be their "star witness," in the trial, though a report released by TMZ on Tuesday cast some serious doubt upon that. Sources close to Minaj told the outlet that she never had any intention of taking the stand, and that that premise (which was pedaled by her brother's lawyers) was BS from the start.
Maraj has been accused of repeatedly raping his stepdaughter over a three-year span, starting when she was 11. He is facing a charge of predatory sexual assault and, if convicted, could serve a sentence of 15 years to life in prison.
