Designer Anand Jon faces new NYC sex charges, echoing Calif. case that sent him to prison

Anand Jon faces new NYC sex charges

NEW YORK — Fallen fashion designer Anand Jon Alexander was charged Friday with molesting at least nine victims — some drugged — in a new case that echoes crimes that already sent him to prison.

Wearing a while shirt and tan drawstring pants, the one-time rising design star said nothing but “not guilty” as he was arraigned in a Manhattan court on a raft of rape and other charges dating to 2002.

At least two victims were minors, and Alexander threatened to hurt one of them if the victim reported the abuse, prosecutors said in an indictments.

Few details were immediately available, including the alleged victims’ ages and how Alexander met them. Alexander’s lawyer, Adam Freedman, said he was new to the case and couldn’t shed more light on it.

Alexander was convicted in Los Angeles in 2008 of sexually assaulting seven girls and women, some of them aspiring models lured with promises of jobs and stays at luxury hotels. The victims were as young as 14.

Alexander maintained his innocence throughout the California case. His lawyers argued many of women were lying about what happened to them and sought revenge against Alexander when they didn’t get modeling jobs.

When he was sentenced in August to 59 years to life in prison, Los Angeles prosecutors said there were similar allegations in New York.

Alexander, known professionally as Anand Jon, had a high-flying career before sex assault allegations began surfacing in 2007. He was featured on “America’s Next Top Model,” worked with such celebrities as Paris Hilton and Mary J. Blige and was among 20 people profiled by Newsweek as up-and-coming players in various industries.

Beverly Hills police began investigating Alexander in March 2007 when a woman reported she had been sexually assaulted in his apartment.

Born in India, Alexander graduated from the Parsons School of Design in New York and launched a fashion line in 1999.