BATON ROUGE — A jury Wednesday convicted a foster father of sexually assaulting three children whom the state placed in his care.

Michael Hadden, 54, was found guilty on 10 counts, including sexual battery, molestation of a juvenile and aggravated crimes against nature. The court worked later Wednesday to set a sentencing date. 

Prosecutors said Hadden's victims, one of whom was an autistic teenager, kept the abuse a secret and struggled to speak out. Hadden's lawyers say that, at 500 pounds, the man was too obese to reach his genitals and couldn't have committed the crimes. They also said the autistic child was unable to provide accurate testimony because of a communication disorder.

According to the state, the abuse occurred as far back as 2022, with Hadden targeting youths with special needs. Hadden had testified in his own defense, speaking for more than an hour about his good deeds, but prosecutors told jurors that good people can do bad things. 

"This case was complicated in many ways. Our courageous victims were some of the most vulnerable in society and we are pleased with the verdict which was the just verdict not only for our survivors of these heinous acts but also for our community," District Attorney Hillar Moore III said.

Earlier in the trial, an East Baton Rouge Parish deputy testified the autistic youth told a teacher at Zachary High School that he had been assaulted and punished. The Department of Children and Family Services removed the child from Hadden's home, but at the DCFS office, the juvenile did not speak about what had happened.

The teacher, Jamie Byrd, told jurors the student had missed several days of school in the spring of 2022. When the teen returned to school on April 11 of that year and Byrd asked where he was, he told her that he was "being punished from school" in a house in Baton Rouge, repeatedly saying that “the devils and demons were there."

Zachary High social worker Melanie Thierry said the teenager had told her that Hadden would take him to "the creepy house" and that "Mr. Mike would come to his room or he would come to his."

Because he has a hard time communicating, the court played his favorite song by Jelly Roll to help calm his nerves.

When he was asked how he felt about Hadden, the teen replied that he was mad and that his foster father had hurt him.

Arrest records obtained by the WBRZ Investigative Unit say deputies noted the Department of Child and Family Services previously looked into complaints against Hadden. At one point, the agency temporarily removed a child from his home but later returned him.