Jury Selection Begins In Nicki Minaj’s Brother’s Rape Trial

Jury selection is slated to begin Wednesday in the child rape trial against rapper Nicki Minaj’s big brother.

The “Super Bass” rapper had previously put up the $100,000 bond that sprang her brother, Jelani Maraj, 38, of Long Island from custody in Nassau County in 2015 – and Maraj has the full support of his superstar sister, his defense lawyer said.

Maraj’s attorney, David Schwartz, said that Minaj is standing by her brother’s side “absolutely, 100 percent,” Newsday reported Tuesday.

Maraj, a Baldwin resident, was arrested in December 2015 after he was accused of first-degree rape and first-degree sexual conduct against a 12-year-old.

He has pleaded not guilty in the case, in which he faces up to life in prison if convicted of the top count.

“These are a bunch of lies,” Schwartz said, according to Newsday. “There’s a big, big motive to lie here which I can’t get into right now. But these are false accusations.”

State Supreme Court Justice Robert McDonald dropped a less serious felony charge against Maraj at the request of the prosecution on Tuesday in Nassau County Court, Newsday reported.

During the Tuesday pretrial court hearing, prosecutors revealed that pajama pants with Maraj’s alleged DNA on them in the groin area will be presented as evidence in the case, the newspaper reported.

Schwartz said that Minaj will not appear in court Wednesday, but may attend part of the trial, according to the news outlet.

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