WASHINGTON: Kerala-born fashion designer Anand Jon Alexander has been sentenced to 59 years to life in prison for sexually assaulting aspiring models after enticing them to his Beverly Hills apartment in Los Angeles with the promise of jobs. US Special Court Judge David Wesley pronounced the sentence after rejecting the 35-year-old’s plea for a new trial on the ground that he did not receive a fair trial because a juror had inappropriately contacted his sister, Sanjana Jon, during the trial.
The celebrity designer, who has designed clothes for the likes of Paris Hilton and Mary J Blige, was convicted last November of 16 counts including rape, sexual battery and performing lewd acts on a child. Prosecutors said his victims ranged in age from 14 to 21.
In his last-ditch bid for retrial, Alexander told the judge, “I am not perfect, but I’m not guilty.”
The designer faces similar charges of sexual assault in New York and Texas. If he is convicted in those states, the sentence he receives there will be added to the California pronouncement.
Alexander was arrested in March 2007 after a woman alleged he had raped her. After his arrest, more women came forward claiming they too were sexually assaulted. During the trial, prosecutors said he lured girls as young as 14 to his apartment, often through the Internet, and used them to act out his sexual fantasies.
Alexander, who graduated from the Parsons School of Design in NY and launched his fashion line in 1999, has featured in America’s Next Top Model show. Two months before his arrest, Newsweek had projected him among a list of persons to watch.