Jon appeared on America's Next Top Model and was listed in Newsweek's ”Who’s Next in 2007?”.[1]
In November 2008, Jon was convicted at the Los Angeles Court on one count of rape and multiple counts of lesser sexual offenses. He was sentenced to 59 years to life. Jon was facing similar charges in New York and Texas, but before the trial began in 2013, the New York prosecutors accepted his guilty plea, and he was sentenced to time served.[2][3] Jon successfully resolved the overlapping out of state cases in NY and TX on the very same charges in CA, and is currently appealing his conviction in Federal Court for his release in CA.
Jon was born in Kerala, India. At 16, he won a scholarship to the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and moved to United States. He moved to New York and joined Parsons The New School for Design making the transition from fine art to fashion.[5] Upon graduating from Parsons, where the Associate Dean was Tim Gunn, Jon launched his debut collection "Amazone" in 1999.[6]
As Jon's brand gained popularity with his Kama Sutra Indo chic fusions, he was sponsored by Giorgio Armani. Jon also credits Gianni Versace for his start in the fashion world.[7]
Jon attracted celebrities, socialites and royalty as clients, some of whom debuted as models on his runway shows and projects, including Michelle Rodriguez,[8]Amanda Hearst and Lydia Hearst,[9]Paris Hilton and Nicky Hilton,[10] and others. "If you were a wannabe, he was the perfect tailcoat to ride on", according to Catherine Saxton, a fashion publicist in New York.[9]
In 2006 Jon founded a denim design company Jeanisis Fashion Inc., and the same year he received capitalization from the Joseph Stevens & Co. Inc. investment firm.[11][12]
Arrest and conviction
Jon was arrested in March 2007 in Beverly Hills, California, on rape and related charges.[7][13][14] He pleaded not guilty to all charges. He had no prior felony convictions.[15] The prosecutors accused Jon of luring women and girls to his apartment under the pretext of securing modeling jobs.[16] Jon claimed that the sexual activity was consensual, and that one minor who accused him of rape had lied about her age.[13]
On November 13, 2008, he was convicted on one count of rape of an adult woman as well as fifteen counts of sexual assault and other charges including unlawful conduct and contributing to delinquency of minors.[16] In July 2009 the judge denied Jon's request for a new trial. Jon dismissed his attorneys before his sentencing as he suspected that they were in collaboration with the prosecutors.[17] He represented himself for the sentencing phase of the proceedings.[18] On August 31, 2009, Jon was sentenced to 59 years to life.[19][20]
Jon was also indicted in Texas and New York on multiple charges alleging sexual assault.[16] All but one of the charges were dropped in the New York trial.[21]
A PageSix article published in 2017 claims a recent motion for discovery in Dallas federal court as “The Los Angeles jury trial was riddled with the red flags of due process violations, jury tampering and intimidation, racism-xenophobia and many unresolved discovery issues.” [22]
Los Angeles case controversy
Jon maintains that during his trial, juror No. 12 was not an impartial juror.[23] Alvin Dymally, juror No.12, made contact with Jon’s sister Sanjana during the trial.[24]Superior Court Judge David Wesley determined Dymally appeared to want a romantic relationship with her when he spoke to her by phone and offered his help. Judge Wesley found both Sanjana and juror no. 12 in contempt of court. [24]
Jon was convicted in November 2009 of 14 counts including forcible rape.[24] He was found not guilty of four felonies, and jurors could not reach a verdict on three counts.[24]
Although it was prohibited, juror No. 12 had discussed case details with his neighbour and had indicated that he felt the girls on the stand had the same or similar stories, and therefore juror No. 12 was under the impression the girls had collaborated.[25]
Due to his fellow jurors’ anger, juror No. 12 claims he felt pressured to give a verdict that he did not want to give.[26] During deliberations, other jurors had complained about juror No. 12, that it seemed he had already made up his mind to convict Jon. [27][28]Although a request from the juror No. 12 be removed for refusal to deliberate, the request was denied by Judge Wesley.[29][24]
Also during jury deliberations and before the verdict, juror No. 12 was flirty with the defendant's sister, Sanjana.[30] due to fear of angering juror No. 12[31], Sanjana called the phone number he handed to her during the trial.[32] after Sanjana refused to meet him, juror No. 12 changed his vote from not guilty to guilty.[23] Before a verdict was reached, juror No. 12 re-initiated contact with Sanjana, once again requesting she meet him.[31] She recorded the phone call[32]. After Sanjana informed the court, she was instructed to schedule a meeting connected to a wire. Prior to the scheduling meeting, juror No. 12 was intercepted by District Attorney Investigators informing him of the criminal investigation he was under, thus sabotaging the plan.[33][34][35][36][37]
Regarding his actions, juror No. 12 faced questioning under oath, where he testified to have never made attempts to speak to Jon’s sister. Defence attorneys presented a recording of their conversation, with the phone records, proving the juror falsely testified.[38]
Juror No. 12 pleaded the Fifth Amendment to "not further incriminate himself" for perjury.[39] Judge Wesley refused to consider or hold evidentiary hearings in the matter and the request for a new trial was denied.[40]
Jon asserts there were inconsistencies in the victims’ testimonies.[41] During the trial, it was shown that the lead detective destroyed evidence crucial to Jon’s case and did not follow up with alleged victims that had said Jon never sexually assaulted them.[42][43]
Jon dismissed his lawyers during the penalty phase, as he believed they were working with the prosecution. One reason that he felt supported this belief is that his Donald Marks, his former defense lawyer, his daughter was hired on by the D.A.'s office during the trial[44]
Almost all the same witnesses and same charges as the Los Angeles case was brought in New York; the New York District Attorney’s Office offered "time served" for a single count as a plea, Jon accepted.
In exchange for the plea, prosecutors agreed to turn over crucial documents to Jon. Jon’s appeal in California argued the Manhattan documents prove his California lawyers did not share vital police documents and relevant correspondence showing his accusers worked together with the help of his civil lawyers to ensure consistency among their stories.[45]
The Los Angeles trial included a rape kit result (negative), indicating no assault findings.[46][47] Jon took and successfully passed a polygraph test regarding the rape charge for which he was convicted.[48]
The record shows how the L.A. prosecutor "demonized Anand Jon's Indian-Jewish culture, meditating cross legged, Kamasutra and foreign (Hebrew) symbols" and further inflamed the jury by portraying Anand Jon as an outsider, who was "above the laws of the United States" "targeted white women". The International Justice Alliance delegation included influential activists, filmmakers, students and exonerees such as Amy Ralston Povah,[50] founder of the CAN-DO Foundation who noted "correcting an injustice".[51]
Weber concurred that "this really seems like this was racially charged with a lot of motive behind it."[52] The disturbing racism in the case was referred to in the Racial Justice Act, assembly member Ash Kalra. "In our research, we found the misconduct of the Beverly Hills police and prosecutor in People v Anand Jon Alexander utterly shocking" said former Assembly member Patty Lopez who passed the AB1909 law (2018) holding prosecutors criminally liable for withholding favorable evidence.[53]
Cal State Masters, San Quentin Rehabilitation Center
The Parsons School of Design (New York City) BA graduate Anand Jon was among 30 selected for the first of a kind Cal State HUX masters degree for the incarcerated starting fall 2023. Studies by the RAND Corporation 2018 and Public Safety Committee show a return on investment of nearly $20 for every dollar spent on education, return on investment reported the San Quentin News in October 2023.[54] Jon was transferred to San Quentin Prison where a $380 million transformation into a Norwegian model rehabilitation center is underway under Governor Newsom's vision to reduce crime, racism and recidivism.[55]
Personal life
Jon is a nephew of Indian classical musician and playback singer K. J. Yesudas.[56] Jon's mother Shashi Abraham and his sister Sanjana Jon have urged the governments of the US and India to intervene and grant a new trial.[20]
Jon has been involved in charity projects such as Universe Aids awareness tour to India with his sister Sanjana.[57][58]
Jon was named cultural ambassador of India for his contribution to fashion. He has won "Rising Star Award" for Fashion week of the Americas, "Designer of the Year" at Vancouver Fashion Week. He was celebrity host for MTV Asia and VH1’s Awesomely Bad Fashions. He has appeared on America's Next Top Model with Tyra Banks and on E! with Paris Hilton.[59]
References
↑McCain, Meghan (24 December 2006). "Anand Jon". Newsweek. Retrieved 2006-12-26.
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