At the time of Aswad Ayinde’s charges and convictions in New Jersey (primarily in 2010–2013), New Jersey did not have a stand-alone statute explicitly criminalizing all incest, especially when the victim was an adult. However, his actions violated other existing laws, including:

 
🔹 Sexual Assault Laws (N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2)
Ayinde was charged and convicted under New Jersey’s sexual assault statutes, which criminalize acts of sexual penetration with certain relatives depending on the victim’s age. These laws made it:

First-degree aggravated sexual assault if the victim was 13–15 years old and the actor was related by blood or affinity to the third degree (e.g., father, uncle, sibling).
Second-degree sexual assault if the victim was 16–17 years old and similarly related.
These charges applied to much of the abuse Ayinde committed while his daughters were minors.

 
🔹 Endangering the Welfare of a Child (N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4)
He was also convicted of endangering the welfare of a child, a broad statute that criminalizes behavior placing a child at risk of harm, including long-term sexual abuse and psychological manipulation.

  
⚠️ What Was Missing from NJ Law Then (and Still Is Today Without Aziza’s Law):
No statute criminalized incestuous sexual activity between adults, even if it was the result of grooming, coercion, or lifelong abuse.
Once a survivor turned 18, the law could treat them as a “consenting participant,” even when that “consent” was the result of years of trauma and manipulation.

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