Anand Jon : From Top Designer to Top Rapist?
Since the arrest of fashion designer, Anand Jon, on March 6 on a charge of multiple counts of rape involving young aspiring models, accusations against him have been growing - perhaps ‘spiraling’ is the better term. He now faces a total of 59 charges and could well be looking at life in prison.
According to deputy DA, Mara McIlvain, Jon’s pattern of behavior resembled “a serial sex offender”.
Yeah well cops say a lot of things that prove to be horseradish in the final analysis. In most cases I prefer to go with ‘innocent until proven guilty’ until a definitive verdict is reached. However in Anand’s case even the angel of mercy himself would be hard pushed to come up with extenuating circumstances.
Prosecutors now have 20 young women prepared to testify that they were lured by Jon to LA with promises of work and the prospect of rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous. They claim that instead they were coerced by Jon into performing various sexual acts.
I have a slight problem with teens who are prepared to travel across the country to hang out with what was formerly an avatar on their computer screen. Most savvy teens with their head screwed on should know not to fall for this type of online soliciting. One young woman who commented on an online forum claims Jon also made the same offers to her. She rejected his act from the get-go, describing his approach as weird.
Jon doesn’t look like a stereotypical rapist. Nothing obviously nasty or psycho about him, on the surface at least. Photos show a dreamy eyed, gender-neutral type guy with long hair. In some shots he even looks somewhat effeminate. Apparently though he wasn’t as innocuous as he looked. Former associates in LA and elsewhere have used words such as “weird” and “creepy” to describe him. Are these jaundiced opinions of Jon motivated by racism or jealousy as some of his supporters claim … or was there something about the guy that simply turned people off?
The arguments in his defense strain credulity. One lawyer called him “a thin Gandhi-type guy” as a way of finessing the impression that his peace-loving client couldn’t possibly have overpowered a teen girl. Some short, wiry guys can surprise you. Charles Manson, long since incarcerated for his role in the Tate-LaBianca murders, was also an elfin looking dude. Sharon Tate’s hubby, the movie director Roman Polanski, is another short elfin type. He fled the US to escape charges of raping a teen. Another Cali resident, Phil Spector, recently on trial for murder is yet another pixie-like accused. “Gandhi-type guy” by way of a defense doesn’t really cut it.
Anthony Brooklier, Anand’s current lawyer, offers a conspiracy theory. His unlikely scenario has the many young women involved hatching a plot over long distance calls around the country, in an effort to tie up the loose ends of some diabolical scheme against his client. Nothing less than a Grand Conspiracy. I can see how 2 or 3 women might resort to a tactic of this sort, but not the numbers of women presently stepping forward. Clearly something more than a self-serving scheme is motivating them. The growing number of accusations aimed at Anand Jon, can’t simply come down to racism or avarice or even professional envy. Something transpired that has driven all of these women to go public, at some risk to their own reputations.
Another dubious line of defense is offered by Anand’s sister, Sanjana Jon, who claims that her brother was so dreadfully busy with the designing biz, he couldn’t possibly have found the time to do all that raping. Yes well she is his sister, so it’s hard to give a lot of credence to her version.
There is a political aspect to his sister’s role also. On September 15th, Sanjana Jon helped to organize a gala for the “Friends of the South Asian American Communities” at the Beverly Hilton. Models and guests at the event were photographed sporting “we support Anand Jon” shirts.
A former Miss India, Amrita Thapar made a speech in which she called for politicians to take a stand against the violation of individual civil rights and any tendency to label a person ‘guilty by color’. Admirable sentiments that most right thinking people fully support. However there was an obvious effort on the part of Thapar to link her high minded appeal with, in her view, the unjust targeting of Anand Jon for sexual offenses.
Racism and human rights violations are indeed despicable - but what is worse however is cloaking a criminal in the mantle of the victim in order to get him off legitimate charges - whatever his color might happen to be.
It should be clearly stated that we don’t know that Anand Jon is a criminal, and a lot of commentators online have been leaping to premature accusations of guilt. The signs certainly suggest that something was profoundly amiss, but it remains to be seen how this plays out in court.
It should be pointed out that a number of attendees at the gala have denied that the show was staged in support of Anand Jon. They point out that it was to celebrate Indian Independence Day. Others have suggested that Anand Jon supporters hijacked an event that was never meant to be ‘a demo’ in support of Jon. However the fact remains that a video was shown in support of Anand Jon, models advertised their support and speeches included pro-Anand Jon sentiments.
There are dissenting voices that have come out in support of the designer. A business associate, who wishes to remain anonymous, recently came forward and claimed that he stopped by Jon’s apartment on the morning after an alleged sexual assault occurred. He claims the woman in question was in fine form … what he describes as “a happy, giddy mood”. It’s difficult to verify a claim like this, and in any case an anecdotal report from an unnamed associate carries very little weight.
Anand Jon staunchly claims he is innocent against these charges, and he enjoys the support of his family and friends. It seems remarkable that only a short time ago he was being touted as an upcoming superstar in the world of fashion, only to make this precipitous descent into a legal nightmare.
Of all the accusations against him, one struck me as different from the rest. A former publicist of Jon’s, a fellow named Chris Hulbert, claims that the designer made sexual advances toward his 19 year old daughter. Is this just another example of professional resentment or envy as some of Jon’s backers claim?
The charges against Anand Jon are extensive. Even if only a few of these charges against him hold up in court, he could be looking at a long prison sentence.
Tags: Anand Jon, Sanjana Jon, fashion industry, Friends of the South Asian American Communities gala, Amrita ThaparSite Feed (via aidan maconachy)
