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October 05, 2007 04:06 IST
India-born celebrity fashion designer Anand Jon Alexander has been indicted on 59 counts of raping or sexually assaulting 20 women, the District Attorney's office announced on Thursday.
Prosecution lawyer Mara McIlvain said the 33-year-old designer was indicted on September 27 by the Los Angeles County criminal Grand Jury following a nine-day hearing with 23 witnesses. The indictment, which was unsealed on Thursday, charges Jon with sexually assaulting female victims ranging in age from 14 to 27 beginning in November 2002 to March 2007.
The designer has been charged with 54 felonies and five misdemeanors.
Alexander's arraignment continued on Thursday before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Wesley.
Prosecutors have sought that the bail amount for the designer be set at $5.1 million per bail schedule. Jon is currently being held without bail.
McIlvain said the indictment includes all 18 victims from an earlier complaint along with two additional victims. Three of the counts involve a victim in Santa Barbara County. Of the 20 alleged victims, seven are from California. The rest are from eight states and two countries.
Jon set up a fledgling fashion design business and allegedly used it to lure models to Los Angeles. Beverly Hills police launched an investigation in March after a woman reported that she was sexually assaulted by the designer at his Beverly Hills apartment.
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