Jelani Maraj, brother of pop star Nicki Minaj, charged with rape, source says

The brother of award-winning singer and rapper Nicki Minaj has been charged in Nassau with raping a child, according to a source with knowledge of the case.

Jelani Maraj, 37, of Baldwin, was arraigned Thursday on first-degree rape and first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child, according to online court and jail records. The child is 12, according to the source.

Bail was set at $100,000, said the Nassau district attorney’s office, which declined to comment on the case, including the circumstances of the case, the age of the child and how the matter came to authorities’ attention.

Maraj had been in the news with his sister recently when he married longtime girlfriend Jacqueline Robinson on Aug. 22 at Coral House in Baldwin, where Minaj wore a red Alexander McQueen gown.

His superstar sister, who last month won the American Music Awards’ rap/hip-hop artist of the year and favorite rap/hip-hop album, had posted photos from the wedding on her Instagram account. With one photo, she wrote “Jelani, I love u more than you’ll ever comprehend” and ended her sentiment with a teary-eyed emoticon.

Maraj was released on bail Thursday from the Nassau County jail in East Meadow, authorities there said.

The name of his attorney was not immediately available.

Neither Minaj’s spokespeople nor the family could be reached for comment.