A British court has found the leader of a secretive London-based cult guilty of raping his followers and using violence, fear and sexual degradation to hold captive the female members of his group.

The Southwark Crown Court has found Aravindan Balakrishnan, 75, guilty of raping two followers and falsely imprisoning his own daughter for more than three decades in a commune in south London, according to reports. 

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The cult leader's daughter, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said the court's verdict overwhelmed her with relief. 

"I believe justice has been done," she said.  "I am very happy with the result and, at the end of the day, he is still my father."

Balakrishnan, whom disciples called Comrade Bala, kept his daughter prisoner in an extreme Left-wing commune for 30 years.  She was born into the cult, where she said she was beaten and banned from singing nursery rhymes by her father.  She told the court she "felt like a caged bird with clipped wings."

The woman's mother, Sian Davies, gave birth to her in 1983 while living as a disciple in the house Balakrishnan occupied with his collective along Acre Lane, in Brixton.  Davies is said to have died in 1996 of injuries sustained from a fall from the second story of the house.

The cult leader, who is convinced he is a Maoist, is said to have ruled over the commune with a combination of violence, intimidation and deceit.  He groomed and then raped two of his female disciples during his 30-year reign over the collective.

At one point during the three-week trial,  the cult leader denied the sex assault allegations, insisting that the two victims pressured him into having sex.  He said the women had competed for his attention,  and even challenged the mother of his daughter over him. 

Reports say Balakrishnan had imposed his will on his disciples by somehow convincing them that he had god-like powers.  He told them a supernatural force named Jackie would cause natural disasters if he was ever disobeyed, according to the BBC. 

Balakrishnan's daughter escaped the commune with the help of a charity in October 2013, while severely ill from diabetes. 

She told the court that she gained the courage to fight back from reading Harry Potter books and Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings". These were the only books her father allowed her to read as he apparently identified with the characters.

Police  subsequently arrested the cult leader on charges of false imprisonment, child cruelty and a number of sex offenses.

Balakrishnan established the cult, which he called the Workers Institute of Marxism Leninism Mao Zedong Thought, in 1970.  The cult leader gained several followers, but over the years their numbers dwindled until only six women remained.      

Reports say Balakrishnan is likely to die in prison after being found guilty of a number of serious offenses.  In all, the court has convicted him on six counts of indecent assault, four counts of rape, and two counts of assault resulting in actual bodily harm.

The cult leader is due for sentencing in January 2016 pending a court-ordered pschyiatric evaluation.

Tagscult leader, Balakrishnan, Brixton cult, sex assault, UK