A 16-year-old girl testified yesterday that Hector Ayala convinced her to start having sex with him three years ago by reading her Tarot cards and telling her that a sexual offering would help her fortune.

Ayala, 59, is on trial on rape, aggravated assault and related charges for allegedly misleading three underage girls into sex by telling them of curses and bad luck.

Yesterday, the girl said that after reading Tarot cards for her, Ayala told her that something bad was going to happen but that her future could brighten in exchange for sex.

"He told me that if I did these sexual acts, I'd get what I wished for," she told the jury.

"I did it and I regret that," she said under direct examination by Assistant District Attorney Leslie Gomez.

The girl alleged that her sexual contact with Ayala started when she was 13 years old and lasted until she was 15.

She said that she was hesitant to engage in sex with Ayala, calling it "weird."

"He was old enough to be my grandpa," she said.

Because she was reluctant to be alone with Ayala, she said, she first performed the sex acts while her friend, a 16-year-old who testified last week, was in the room.

She said that the sex eventually progressed to the point in which three girls — one of whom did not press charges — were present and that Ayala would have sex with them in succession.

A fourth underage girl also has accused Ayala of having sex with her.

Last week, the first complainant testified that she had been tricked into sex by Ayala and her mother, who is on trial accused of conspiracy, sexual assault and related charges in the case. The mother's name is being withheld to protect her daughter's identity.

The mother and Ayala allegedly told the girl when she was 9 years old that a week of oral sex would serve as an offering to her spirit guide and lift a curse on the family.

The girl said that the sex did not stop at the end of that week and continued until she was 15, eventually leading to vaginal intercourse.

The second complainant, who went to police after the first complainant came forward, told the jury yesterday that she was relieved finally to unburden herself of her secret.

"Now I don't have to feel that pain on my chest," she said.

The jury trial under Judge Gwendolyn Bright was to continue today with cross-examination from defense attorneys Michael Medway and Michael Engle. *