Fashion Designer Anand Jon Alexander Convicted of Rape

After nearly two weeks of deliberation a jury found fashion designer Anand Jon Alexander guilty of 14 felonies, including forcible rape, and two misdemeanors.  His victims ranged in age from 14 to 21.  Part of the prosecution's case was that he lured young women to L.A with the promise of modeling for him and then he attacked them.

He must serve a minimum of 67 years before he is eligible for parole because the jury found he had committed multiple forceful acts against seven different victims.  Because he is 34 years old, it is likely he will spend the rest of his life in jail.  Aw, so sad for him.  I hope he is sentenced to life without the possibility for parole when is sentenced in January.

Anand had worked with Paris Hilton and Mary J. Blige in the past and was listed by Newsweek magazine as a "person to watch."  He has also been featured on America's Next Top Model.  He was most well known for hand-printed jeans which sold for over $700.

He was convicted of forcible rape, multiple counts of committing a lewd act on a child, attempted forcible oral copulation, and attempted sexual assault.  He was found not guilty of four felonies, including sexual penetration by a foreign object, oral copulation of a person under 18, and unlawful sexual intercourse. Jurors could not reach a verdict on three counts, and a mistrial was declared on those charges.

He is under indictment in New York on similar charges involving nine women and is under investigation by authorities in Texas and Massachusetts. "The ones that we know of are probably the tip of the iceberg of what truly exists," prosecutor Frances Young said outside court after the verdicts were read.  "Mr. Alexander is a 34-year-old man who masquerades as a fashion designer," she said. "Similar to the way pedophiles surround themselves with children, he chose a career where be could be surrounded by young, very naive, very impressionable girls ... and victimized them."  

His attorneys maintained he was innocent, saying that there was a lack of physical evidence and that the women lied in court and sought revenge.  He said he would appeal.  "This case is not over by a long shot," Larry Levine told reporters outside court. "For now, we are disappointed."

Now, I am not naive enough to believe that woman don't lie about being raped (which is a horrible, awful disgusting thing to do and don't get me started to what that does to women who tell the truth) but 7?  7 women all lied?  And what about the women in the other states?  The all lied too?

His attorney also blamed the number of the charges as the reason he was convicted.  "They were a bunch of weak cases. ... The cumulative effect was probably very prejudicial."  That, or the fact that he raped women and children, one or the other.

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Comments

[MamaKaren]

One accusation without sufficient substantiation might make me think that there was some lying on the part of the accuser. For there to be over 15 seperate women in four states to make the accusation? To think that all of them are making it up is some serious suspension of disbelief. So many women are afraid to report sexual assaults, and having the defense say "Oh, they're all just making it up," just creates an atmosphere that will make reporting seem less appealing.

[Scout's Honor]

Truly evil. I know I am wrong to say this, but, if there's any justice in this universe, I hope he gets raped in unspeakable ways in prison.