Grand Jury Indicts Designer Anand Jon
Designer Anand Jon Alexander has officially been indicted and charged with 59 counts of sexually assaulting 20 women.
Alexander, 33, was indicted Sept. 27 by the Los Angeles County criminal grand jury following a nine-day hearing with 23 witnesses, said Deputy District Attorney Mara McIlvain of the office’s Sex Crimes Division.
Alexander, who goes by the name Anand Jon in the trade, will be arraigned on Oct. 25 before Superior Court Judge David Wesley. He is charged with 54 felonies and five misdemeanors involving female victims ranging in age from 14 to 27. The alleged incidents date from November 2002 to March 2007.
Prosecutors ask that bail be set at $5.1 million, per the bail schedule. Alexander is currently being held without bail.
Three of the counts involve a victim in Santa Barbara County, Calif. Of the 20 alleged victims, seven are from California. The rest are from eight states and two countries.
Prosecutors said Alexander used his fashion business to lure models to Los Angeles. Beverly Hills police launched an investigation in March after a woman reported she was sexually assaulted by Alexander at his Beverly Hills apartment. The initial complaint filed March 8 will be dismissed.
Alexander also is under investigation in Dallas, Houston, New York and Massachusetts. If convicted on the new criminal indictment in Los Angeles, he will be facing up to life in prison.
Alexander’s new attorney, Donald B. Marks of Los Angeles–based Marks & Brooklier, said, “We are confident he will be exonerated down the road.” —Robert McAllister
