*A lawyer for Nicki Minaj’s brother is attempting to get child-rape charges against his client tossed by claiming the victim lied about her age, according to Page Six.
David Schwartz, who represents Jelani Maraj, said Wednesday (Nov 1) that the now-13-year-old victim never provided a birth certificate during the trial proving her age.
“Number one, the people have never established the victim’s age,” Schwartz told Nassau County Supreme Court Judge Robert McDonald. “We are relying on [the victim], who can’t possibly remember the day she was born.”
The girl was 11-years-old when prosecutors say Maraj, her 38-year-old stepfather, began repeatedly raping her at their Long Island home. He is charged with rape and sexual conduct against a 12-year-old and faces up to life in prison, if convicted.
Schwartz asked the judge to dismiss the charges against Maraj. “I believe the people have failed in their burden because they didn’t introduce the birth certificate,” Schwartz said outside the courtroom. “You have to prove the witness is under 13. Look, we had the witness on the stand, she didn’t look under 13 because the event happened two years ago.
“You have to put in a birth certificate, you’ve got to, and I believe they failed to do that.”
As previously reported, the girl testified Monday in chilling detail about the alleged abuse.
“He would call me his puppet and [say] I had no say in what he did to me,” she told jurors.
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