Back in 2017, Nicki Minaj's brother was found guilty of raping his stepdaughter.
The victim was just 11 years old.
Today, Jelani Maraj was back in court to be sentenced for his crimes.
And Nicki and her family received the news that Jelani might never go free.
Nassau County District Attorney spokesman Brendan Brosh tells Radar Online that Maraj was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
Judge Robert McDonald threw the book at Maraj after the district attorney sought the harshest possible penalty.
Maraj was charged with several counts of predatory sexual assault and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.
At one point during the shocking trial, Maraj's victim took the stand and testified that he called her “his puppet” and raped her repeatedly between April and November 2015.
The defense argued that the allegations were all part of an elaborate scheme to extort $25 million from Minaj.
Thankfully, the jury was not swayed by the absurd arguments of Maraj's attorneys, and they found him guility in November of 2017.
The past two years will count toward Maraj's time served, but he still won't be eligible for parole until 2040.
And given the heinous nature of his crimes, there's a very good chance that he'll spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Before handing down his sentence, Judge McDonald lambasted Maraj for his horrific actions.
“You raped this child. You raped her over and over again,” McDonald said.
McDonald added that his “view is that you ruined this child.”
Nicki did not appear in court on her brother's behalf, but attorneys for Maraj read a letter that she wrote after his arrest in the hope that he would receive a lighter sentence.
In the document, Nicki referred to Maraj as the “most patient, gentle, genuine, giving selfless man I know.”
Maraj addressed the court and blamed his actions on his alcoholism.
“I’d like to apologize for the pain that I caused. I had an excessive drinking problem,” he said.
Maraj added that he’s “just asking for mercy from the court.”
Many fans were upset to learn that Nicki has continued to support her brother, and sadly her doing so is part of a pattern of problematic behavior.
In October, Nicki married convicted rapist and murderer Kenneth Petty, much to the chagrin of many of her supporters.
