Jury selection will begin Tuesday for the trial of a Jersey City music teacher indicted on eight counts in the alleged sexual assault of two girls studying at his Bergen Avenue music school.
JERSEY CITY - The trial of a Jersey City music teacher accused of sexually assaulting two young girls studying at his Bergen Avenue music school is scheduled to begin with jury selection on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
In January 2014, Henry Granderson, 63, also known as Muhammad Bilal, was indicted on two counts of first degree aggravated sexual assault, two counts of sexual assault, three counts of endangering the welfare of a child and one count of making terroristic threats.
The charge of first degree aggravated sexual assault carries a possible sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison upon conviction.
Granderson was arrested in January 2013 and charged with raping an 8-year-old student while in the presence of her 5-year-old sister at his 676 School of Violin and Fine Arts.
At that time, he was charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault on the 8-year-old girl, and one count each of child abuse and endangering the welfare of a child for each of the sisters. Authorities said the molestation of the 8-year-old occurred over a two-year period, mostly in Granderson's home.
One week after his arrest, Granderson was charged with sexually assaulting a second girl studying at his school. In that case authorities say he repeatedly molested the girl who was 9 and 10 years old at the time, from 2011 to the end of 2012.
In 1999, Granderson was sentenced to 18 months in state prison for endangering the welfare of a child.
Under the name Bilal, he performed at the inauguration ceremonies of former Jersey City mayors Jerramiah Healy and Glenn D. Cunningham.
Granderson's bail was set at $400,000 cash or bond and he remains at the Hudson County jail in Kearny.
The trial will be before Hudson County Superior Court Judge Joseph Isabella in the Hudson County Administration Building in Jersey City.
Granderson is represented by Genesis Peduto and the state is being represented by Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor John Mulkeen.