Famous Fashion Designer Found Guilty of Rape
Posted on November 18, 2008
Filed Under Sex Offenders, rape |
A Beverly Hills fashion designer, once touted as a future star of the catwalks, was found guilty of sexually assaulting seven girls and young women, capping a two-month trial that offered a sordid portrait of the fashion world.
During this jury trial, the jury was made up of six men and six women, the deliberation lasted for seven days before finding Anand Jon Alexander guilty of one count of rape and 15 counts of sexual assault and other charges.
Prosecutors said Jon, 34, faces a sentence of life in prison and will become eligible for parole after serving 67 years. In March 2007, Beverly Hills police arrested Jon after a woman accused him of rape. A grand jury later indicted him on 59 counts, but prosecutors eventually dropped more than half of them before trial, so to focus on the strongest allegations.
During the trial, prosecutors accused Jon of using the promise of modeling jobs to lure girls as young as 14 to a squalid-looking apartment in Beverly Hills, where he acted out sadistic fantasies. Prosecutors played a homemade videotape in which he asked a 17-year-old girl to strip and then sexually abused her. The girl said on the tape that she was 18 but testified in court that Jon told her to lie about her age. Others testified that Jon forced them to perform sex acts on him or that he touched them without consent. In addition to the victims in California, prosecutors called seven other women to tell jurors about alleged assaults in New York and Texas, where Jon also has been indicted.
As unpopular as sex offenses and alleged sex crimes are in society, individuals accused of sex crimes have the same rights as any other criminal defendant. These rights include the right to a jury trial, the right to cross-examine witnesses, the right against self-incrimination, and the right to produce evidence. Sex offenses include al types of sexual activities ranging from the serious crime of rape, usually defined as sexual penetration without consent, to the less serious crime of prostitution, usually described sex for hire.
Generally, sexual assaults include unwanted physical contact with a sexual organ. Physical contact is unwanted if the victim “says no,” physically objects, or was not able to give consent due to mental incapacitation.
It is not required to show that the victim physically objected. If you are accused of any sexual offense it is important that you seek the services of a criminal defense attorney with experience in these type of cases.
The Los Angeles rape defense attorneys at Stephen G. Rodriguez & Associates defend individuals facing rape charges in Los Angeles California.
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