Anand Jon Faces Additional Felony Charges
Designer Anand Jon Alexander is facing 13 additional counts of sexual assault after the Los Angeles District Attorney on April 4 filed the new charges stemming from reports from five new female victims between the ages of 14 and 23.
The new charges, filed by Deputy District Attorney Mara McIlvain, include two counts of forcible rape, five counts of forcible oral copulation, two counts of lewd acts on a child, one count of sodomy, one count of false imprisonment, one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and one count of sexual penetration by a foreign object.
Alexander, who spends most of his time between Los Angeles and New York, now faces 33 counts for a slate of alleged offenses committed between 2002 and 2007. If convicted of all counts, Alexander could face a life sentence, said a District Attorney spokesperson.
He was initially arrested on March 6 and held without bail for fear that he might flee to his native India. He has since been released.
The cases involve Jon’s relationship with several models he has worked with. Jon’s high-profile attorney, Ronald Richards, filed a motion to dismiss several complaints due to what he called prejudicial pre-filing delays. Richards, who was a media analyst on the Michael Jackson case, said some of the alleged victims filed complaints three years after the alleged abuses were said to have occurred, causing what he claims is irreversible prejudice.
Richards further rebutted that the alleged victims filed the charges after Jon decided against hiring the models to the extent they wanted.
Alexander’s incarceration forced him to cancel his debut at Los Angeles Fashion Week, where he was to show a new denim line. The Indian-born designer is known for outfitting Paris Hilton and Michelle Rodriguez as well as for his television exploits; he served as a judge on “America’s Top Model” and an impending VH1 reality series. —Robert McAllister
