Fashion Designer Anand Jon Alexander Gets 59 Years to Life

Fashion designer Anand Jon Alexander was sentenced to 59 years to life in prison recently for sexually assaulting young would-be models. Alexander had been convicted last November of 14 counts of rape. On four counts he was found not guilty and no verdict was reached on three additional counts. The judge in Alexander’s case noted that "Mr. Alexander has showed no remorse for his actions."

The sentencing this week brought to an end a whirlwind process that reads more like a television drama than real life. After the verdict came in last November, there have been allegations of tampering with jurors by Alexander’s sister Sanjana, juror misconduct and Alexander’s unusual decision to represent himself. Alexander also was denied in his motion for a new trial, having claimed that law enforcement officers conspired to convict him. The case also saw 13 women whom Alexander assaulted come into the courtroom to confront him, all of them crying at some point during the proceedings and three of them speaking out.

One of the women noted, "I was 14. You took my adolescence, my trust, my dream and completely manipulated them for your sexual desires." The girl, who is now 17 years old, went on to say, "It sickens me that a grown man can do such a thing to a girl. A girl who was naïve and had the belief that all people were good. And you took that to your advantage." During the case, prosecutors noted that Alexander would often find women online and lure them to California by promising to get them modeling work. He then sexually assaulted them at his apartment in Beverly Hills. Another woman, who is now 21 years old, noted, "I have a constant reminder of the day that I, the biggest daddy’s girl in the world, had to tell my dad that I had been raped by this person. Now every day I have to cope with my family having to relive all of this and it absolutely kills me."