A Paterson, N.J., jury found Aswad Ayinde guilty Wednesday on all counts of molesting his biological daughter from the age of 8 until she finally bore his child as a teenager.
The former Fugees "Killing Me Softly" director was convicted on multiple counts of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, lewdness, child endangerment, aggravated criminal sexual contact and criminal sexual contact. Ayinde, whose original name is Charles McGill, faces 40 years when sentenced and more than 100 years if convicted of all charges of raping and impregnating four other daughters that he faces in upcoming trials.
"We definitely found the daughter's testimony credible," said juror Suzanne Miller to The Record, as she left the courthouse with fellow jurors. "We all agreed. It was a unanimous decision."
The unnamed daughter, who is now 23 years old and went to police back in 2006 to reveal the 17 years of horrors her family had endured, testified that her molestation began as a child. She also stated that her father would beat her, their mother and sisters incessantly.
The young woman got pregnant by her dad at 15 and gave birth to the child. She also recounted stories that her father would tell about how he was Christ, a prophet, and was trying to create a blue-blood race among them. These were reportedly his reasons for isolating and having incestuous relations with them.
Four of the alleged victims were daughters with his wife, Beverly, who also testified at trial. Three of those four daughters bore six children by Ayinde, prosecutors charge.
The jury began their deliberations on Tuesday afternoon and reached their decision by Wednesday at 3:21 p.m. As the head juror read the verdict, Ayinde stood devoid of any emotion.
Jurors in this trial were only given information about the other alleged sexual assault victims when it related to the abusive household Ayinde maintained. The jurors for each subsequent trial will also only be given the pertinent facts of each individual victim's case.
Ayinde was being held in the Passaic County jail on $1 million bail during the trial. The bail was then revoked and it was ordered that Ayinde continue to be held until sentencing on Jan. 7th.
"I'm really happy with the jury's verdict. I'm glad justice was served," said Passaic County Senior Assistant Prosecutor Lisa Squitieri, who argued the case for the state.