BATON ROUGE — A Baton Rouge jury found Michael Hadden guilty of molesting three foster kids Wednesday afternoon.

Before the jury delivered its verdict, both the prosecution and defense made their closing statements.

The prosecution argued the victims kept their abuse a secret and struggled to speak out. They also argued that Hadden manipulated kids with special needs. They also pointed out while Hadden spoke about his good deeds, good people can do bad things.

The defense argued the victims' inability to recall their ages undermines the case while also noting how one victim couldn't communicate verbally, which questions the reliability of his testimony. The defense also claimed Hadden’s size at the time — at least 500 pounds — made it physically impossible to commit the crimes he’s found guilty of.

Agnes Smith is a relative of one of the victims and said justice was long overdue.

“Look, I was mad, and still am, but this is going to be one of the greatest things that happened,” Smith said.

She said Hadden caused the victims' trauma. 

“I know my grandson would wake me up in the middle of the night when we first got him and he would be screaming 'Don’t do it' and stuff like this," she said.

Smith believes this trial not only brought justice for the victims, but also shined light on the flaws in the Department of Family and Child Services, saying the system failed these children.

“He had my grandson and a lot of other people’s grandsons, but yet when we would say something, ‘I’m not doing anything wrong.’ Aw no, he wasn’t doing anything wrong, was he? Ruining their lives, that’s what I call it," Smith said.

Hadden sentencing is set for April 28.