Anand Jon Trial Begins as Some Charges Are Dropped
Jury selection for the sex-crimes case against Los Angeles clothing designer Anand Jon was expected to begin Sept. 4, minus half the initial charges filed against him earlier this year.
Judge David Wesley on Aug. 27 removed 30 counts involving 10 victims from the original 59-count indictment as a result of a motion filed by prosecutors in Los Angeles Superior Court. Jon is now facing 29 counts involving 10 victims, said Jane Robison, press secretary for the D.A.’s office.
There were initially 20 victims total. Prosecutors are proceeding with 10 witnesses, who allege that the designer committed rape and other lewd acts. If convicted of the 29 counts, Jon faces 122 years to life in prison.
Representatives for prosecutors said the move was made to streamline the case against Jon and focus on the strongest ones. The alleged assaults took place between August 2000 and March 2007. It was during the onset of Los Angeles Fashion Week when a 19-year-old woman from Seattle told Beverly Hills police that Jon had sexually assaulted her. As the case became public, more women, some under age 18, came forward and filed formal complaints against the designer. Most of the cases involved models who either worked with Jon or intended to work with him.
Jon has claimed the women filed the complaints in retaliation for not being hired to work for Jon as models. In some of the cases, the models continued to meet with Jon at his condominium on dates after the assaults were to have occurred, according to Jon’s grand-jury indictment. —Robert McAllister
