There could be a chance that Jelani Maraj, Nicki Minaj’s brother, will get a retrial after he was convicted of allegedly raping his stepdaughter, who was 11 years old at the time.
Since his November 2017 conviction, an alternate juror has accused others of juror misconduct, which prompted Nassau County Supreme Court Judge Robert McDonald to demand all jurors return to the courtroom for individual interviews.
Jelani Maraj (right) awaits sentencing on his child rape conviction. (Instagram)
“There is a need for the court to conduct a hearing to determine the nature of the material placed before the jury and whether that material created a substantial risk of prejudice to the defendant,” wrote McDonald after receiving an affidavit from the defense with the alternate juror’s claims.
McDonald also wrote the alternate juror alleged others “expressed their belief that Jelani Maraj was guilty early on in the trial” and “stated they can’t wait for him to be found guilty.”
Plus, according to that person who’s yet to be named, his fellow jurors said Jelani must be guilty because Nicki didn’t show up to the trial or testify on his behalf.
In past interviews, the rapper’s mother, Carol Maraj, also accused the jurors of misconduct and said many of them simply had their own agenda.
“One of the jurors said, ‘I can’t wait to see his face when I bring him in guilty,’” she explained. “But we have the affidavits to prove that they were busy talking about his sister, why didn’t she take the stand, that means that he’s guilty. If his sister didn’t show up that means he was guilty.”
“They totally ignored the evidence that there was no evidence to prove this man guilty,” added Carol. “So they went by their own mind, by their own feelings, and they already had him guilty way before the trial ended.”
The judge has yet to decide whether he’ll call for a retrial or not.
