Nicki Minaj's brother found guilty of raping stepdaughter four times a week for eight months

Nicki Minaj's brother, Jelani Maraj, is facing 25 years to life in prison after being convicted of repeatedly raping his 11-year-old stepdaughter.

Maraj, who denied the child rape allegations, was found guilty of predatory sexual assault on a minor by jurors at Nassau County courtroom in New York on Thursday (9 November), CBS News reports.

According to prosecutors, the girl was raped four times a week for eight months in 2015 by the 38-year-old at his Long Island home when her mother went to work.

"We hope that today's verdict will help the family in the healing process and that it will close this terrible chapter in their lives," District Attorney Madeline Singas said, with prosecutors recovering DNA evidence from the girl's pyjama pants linking the crime to Maraj. The girl's younger brother also testified at the trial that he witnessed one assault.

The trial, which lasted for a month, saw the defence argue that the accusations against Maraj were made in an attempt to extort $25m (£19m) from his famous sister. Maraj's lawyer David Schwartz has said they will be appealing the verdict.

"We have 50 appealable issues," Schwartz was quoted as saying by the news website. "The amount of evidence we have that wasn't allowed in this case is unbelievable. I've never seen anything like it. I am shocked."

Maraj was arrested in early December 2015 just months after he tied the knot with the victim's mother and long-time girlfriend Jacqueline Robinson in August 2015. He is scheduled to be sentenced on 14 December.

Minaj, who is said to have forked out $30,000 (£20,000) towards her sibling's nuptials and shared snaps from his big day with fans on Instagram, put up his $100,000 bail.

Earlier, James R. Ray III, the previous defence attorney in the case, was fired for demanding $25 million from Maraj following his arrest to settle a potential lawsuit. He told the court he had made the monetary demand but that the girl's mother was in the dark. "She was never involved as far as what we did," he testified.