Anand Jon Seeks Help from Indian Government
Jailed designer Anand Jon, whose full name is Anand Jon Alexander, is reaching out to the government of his native India to help him in his sexual-assault case, in which he is facing 56 counts of various sexual crimes against 30 women.
Jon is in Los Angeles County Jail awaiting a Jan. 30 pretrial. He pleaded not guilty in November to charges of rape, molestation and other related crimes against young models he met during the course of his fashion business. He’s been in custody since June.
The designer’s family in India has appealed to Indian Affairs minister Vayalar Ravi, who said he would pursue the case but recently was rebuffed by India’s Minister of External Affairs, E. Ahamed, who said to the Indio-Asian News Service that he told Jon’s mother there will be no intervention on behalf of New Delhi.
According to the report, Ahamed directed Jon’s family to the Indian consulate in Washington, D.C., for auxiliary assistance. Jon’s family pointed to the case of Mohammed Haneef, a 27-year-old Indian physician who was arrested in Australia, accused of aiding terrorists. Haneef was later released following intervention by the Indian government.
Jon apparently will not receive the same intervention. His family has argued that he is the victim of racism and conspiracy. His attorney, Donald Stone, declined to comment on the Indian government’s involvement.
“We have a pretrial date on Jan. 30. We’re going to be there and see what happens,” he said. —Robert McAllister
