XPost: alt.politics.kerry, alt.politics.democrat, carleton.general
XPost: mn.general

A 10-year-old boy who walked in on the alleged rape of his
sister by the brother of rap star Nicki Minaj knew what he
witnessed “wasn’t right” — but was threatened to keep his mouth
shut, jurors heard Monday.

The youngster, wearing a black tuxedo and clutching a yellow
star-shaped toy, bravely took the stand in Jelani Maraj’s rape
trial in Nassau County Supreme Court.

He detailed what he saw in a basement bedroom in 2015 — as his
family members quietly wept in the gallery.

“What happened was I was looking for [her],” the boy said,
referring to his then-11-year-old sister, who has accused Maraj,
their stepdad, of repeatedly raping her. “My pencil broke and I
didn’t have any others.”

The boy, who was 8 at the time, said his sister’s pants were
“around her ankles.”

“I saw his underwear close to his knees,” he testified about
Maraj.

Asked by prosecutors what happened next, he quietly said, “I
thought it wasn’t right. It looked weird to me, so I ran
upstairs.”

Maraj, the boy testified, later found him and slapped him in the
face “about 10 times.”

“He asked me if I had seen anything. I said, ‘Yes,’ ” the boy
said. “He slapped me on the cheek.”

Maraj — the older brother of the “Super Bass” rapper — then
allegedly used the boy’s mother, Jacqueline Robinson, to
threaten the boy into silence.

At the time, Maraj was married to Robinson.

“Jelani said I wouldn’t see her again if I told on him,” he
said. “His face was kind of mad.”

The boy, whose bedroom was next to his sister’s, also told
jurors he’d sometimes hear his door suddenly close at night —
and then his sister’s bed creaking.

Defense lawyer David Schwartz tried to poke holes in the little
boy’s testimony by getting him to admit the lights were off when
he walked in on the alleged rape.

“You would agree that when the light is not on, the room is very
dark?” Schwartz asked.

“Yes,” the boy answered.

Prosecutors allege Maraj had sex with the young girl, now 13, as
often as four times a week.

A doctor testified last week that the girl’s medical records
strongly suggest she was having sex.

“I can say with a reasonable degree of certainty that [the
girl’s] medical exam can prove penetration,” said Dr. Aaron
Miller after reviewing photos.

Prosecutors said Maraj’s DNA was found on a pair of the girl’s
pajama pants.

The defense has claimed the sickening allegations were concocted
by Robinson in a $25 million extortion plot against Minaj, who
is expected to testify on her sibling’s behalf.

Minaj posted her brother’s $100,000 bond when he was arrested in
December 2015.

“Why would [Robinson] lie and force her children to lie? I can
give you 25 million reasons why,” Schwartz told jurors.

https://pagesix.com/2017/10/23/10-year-old-testifies-in-minaj- brother-rape-trial/
 

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