Designer | Anand Jon sentenced for ‘preying on’ teen models

Anand Jon Alexander, an Indian fashion designer who once seemed destined for fame and fortune on celebrity-dotted Beverly Hills, was yesterday sentenced to a minimum of 59 years in jail for sexual assaults on seven young women and minor girls whom he trapped with promises of high-flying jobs as models.

Anand Jon, as he is known in the fashion world, is defending himself against similar allegations in two other states and faces additional jail time in New York and Texas if courts in these states hand down similar sentences.

The designer, who once dressed up Queen Noor of Jordan, billionaire builder Donald Trump and former New York mayor Rudy Guiliani, is only 35.

He was on the path to greater success when the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office received complaints two years ago of rape.

One of his victims was a 14-year-old.

Anand Jon, who was born in Thiruvananthapuram, went to school in Chennai and later acquired a bachelor’s degree from New York’s prestigious Parsons School of Design, has a history of being under the strobe lights of sex-crime detectives in the US.

In 2004, they investigated him in a case of sexual assault, but prosecutors eventually declined to charge him.

The designer wore a blank look when Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Wesley read out the sentence, according to local reporters who were present in court.

Anand Jon’s victims, who were seated nearby in the court, wept as they heard the sentence.

The designer’s family has been engaged in a high-decibel campaign within and outside India against the US criminal justice system, alleging racist bias against Anand Jon in the case and unsubstantiated attempts by Americans to stall his professional rise on account of his brown skin.

The family co-opted powerful Indians and sections of the Indian media into their ill-advised campaign. In the end, the family’s campaign may have done Anand Jon more harm than good.

This was obvious when Wesley said Anand Jon should remain behind bars as long as possible for sexually exploiting minor girls. “Mr Alexander has showed no remorse for his actions,” the judge said.

Anand Jon dismissed his attorneys for incompetence in July and argued in court yesterday on his own, pleading for a new trial.

But the judge denied the request, saying: “You have not convinced me that there is a conspiracy, all right? There is nothing before me right now that substantiates that.”

Those remarks are being interpreted as further reference to the family’s campaign alleging racial motivation behind the prosecution. Wesley has, however, cited misconduct in the case because of contacts between a member of the jury and Anand Jon’s sister Sanjana before the verdict.

Both the juror and Sanjana have been accused of contempt of court and are scheduled to appear in court this month.

According to PTI, Sanjana continued to harp on conspiracy theories with a statement in New Delhi today that “Anand is a victim of complete racism and bias in the court. I need help. Being an Indian, being a brown, I think we are just guilty by colour out there today and for justice, I need somebody strong to step in otherwise we are not going to get justice.”