Los Angeles/New Delhi, Sep 1 (Inditop.com) Indian-born fashion designer Anand Jon, convicted of sexually assaulting several girls and young women, has been sentenced to 59 years in prison by a Los Angeles court.
The designer, who appeared on the reality television show “America’s Next Top Model”, was Nov 16 convicted of 16 charges, including rape and sexual assault.
According to prosecutors, he enticed the girls, mostly aspiring models, with the promise of modelling jobs and forced them into sex, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The sentence Monday came two weeks after the designer’s sister Sanjana Jon pleaded with the Indian government to extradite her brother for a fair trial because “being an Indian in the US, I know we won’t get justice”.
Jon, who dressed celebrities like Janet Jackson and Paris Hilton, was arrested in the US in 2007 on charges of raping more than a dozen models. He has been in jail for the last 30 months.
Jon, acting as his own attorney, presented a lengthy argument in the court and urged a new trial, citing the inadequate defence by his former attorneys.
However, Judge David Wesley denied his motion and handed down the hefty sentence while his victims wept in the jury box.
Wesley sentenced him to the maximum sentence for all but two of those counts, saying he showed no remorse for his actions and posed a danger to other young women, said the report.
Nine women who testified against Jon during his trial told the court about their ordeal, each choking up with emotion.
“I was 14. You took my adolescence, my trust, my dream and completely manipulated them for your sexual desires,” one of the victims said, reading from a statement.
The designer also faces charges in New York and Texas, where he has been indicted.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Aug 18, Sanjana Jon said: “We have been subjected to racism. Even mass murderers are not treated that way, the way Anand is treated in jail.”
“All I want is that the government should intervene and do something to save my brother who has been suffering due to racism and indiscrimination towards Indians,” said Sanjana about her brother who she said was “held in solidarity confinement”.
“I am here not only as Anand’s sister but as an Indian who is suffering because we are just guilty by colour. Anand deserves a fair trial and the only way to get that is by extraditing him back to India,” she maintained.
Sanjana broke down when a presentation on her brother was shown to the media.
“Being an Indian in the US, I know that we won’t get justice and that’s why I am here to ask for the support of the government and everyone to come forward and support me,” she added.
