by Patrick H. Moore
Aswad Ayinde, a 55 year old Paterson, New Jersey man, was sentenced to 50 years in prison Friday for sexually assaulting and impregnating his daughter four times between 1992 and 2006. He had already been sentenced to 40 years for raping one of this victim’s sisters. In total, Ayinde has been accused of raping five of his daughters, three of whom are believed to have given birth to a total of six children.
Ayinde was arrested in 2006.
According to testimony provided by his ex-wife at his 2010 trial, Ayinde’s bizarre reason for systematically and continuously raping his five daughters was to create “pure” family bloodlines.
Based on the case records, the assaults began in the mid-1980s and lasted until 2002, when the parents separated. The rapes occurred at residences in Paterson, East Orange, Orange and Eatontown. At some point, the family came onto the radar of the state’s child welfare agency.
Ayinde was first arrested in 2000 and charged with kidnapping for allegedly trying to “rescue” three of his children from state custody at a Monmouth County medical center. He was released after posting bail. Ayinde later pleaded guilty to assault and child endangerment and was given a slap on the wrist — one year of probation.
At the 2010 trial, Ayinde’s ex-wife and one of his daughters testified that New Jersey’s Division of Youth and Family Services had removed at least one of the children from the family’s home at an undetermined date, which caused the family to move, first to Jersey City and then to Florida, to avoid the agency’s investigation.
At the trial, Ayinde’s daughter described receiving and witnessing beatings administered with wooden boards and steel-toed boots. Minor transgressions were punished by the withholding of food.
Ayinde’s ex-wife testified that some of the babies were delivered at home and never received birth certificates. At least two of the babies died in the home and were buried without bringing it to the the authorities’ attention.
According to Ayinde’s ex-wife, the children were “home-schooled” and were not allowed to interact with other kids.
“No one really asked questions of each other because somebody would tell on somebody and somebody would get in trouble.”
Although the children’s mother was naturally aware of the sexual abuse, she stated that she was too frightened to confront Ayinde.
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In a bizarre twist, Ayinde has been identified as an award-winning music video director. Among his other musical accomplishments, Ayinde won an MTV award for directing the video for “Killing Me Softly” by hip hop legends The Fugees.
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This is a particularly glaring example of the systematic abuse of children that is rampant in this country. People who are aware of such transgressions are often reluctant to go to the authorities. Unfortunately, doing nothing and staying quiet merely perpetuates the abuse cycle.