A former paediatrician has been found guilty of waterboarding his stepdaughter (then 11) by holding her face under a tap.
Melvin Morse (60) was convicted of one felony - waterboarding in the bathtub - and five misdemeanors, and will be sentenced on April 11th. The jury deliberated for about six hours before reaching a verdict.
Morse showed no reaction as the verdict was read, but his defence attorney John Brady said "He maintains his innocence to this day".
Morse, who worked as a doctor in Delaware, faces up to 10 years in prison.
A nationally recognised paediatrician, Morse has written several books on paranormal science and near-death experiences involving children. He has always denied claims he was experimenting on the girl.
Morse was charged of child endangerment and assault charges including waterboarding in 2012. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Prosecutor Melanie Withers said she was "very gratified' by the verdict.
Ms. Withers portrayed Morse as a brutal and domineering "lord and master" of his household, who abused the girl for years while her mother acquiesced in silence.
The girl (now 12) and her mother, Pauline Morse, testified that Melvin Morse used it as a form of punishment.
But Morse's defence attorneys argued 'waterboarding' was a term jokingly used to describe hair-washing that the girl did not like.
Waterboarding - which critics say amounts to torture - has been used in the past by US interrogators on terror suspects.
