Family and friends devastated over Anand Jon's guilty verdict

Los Angeles, Nov 21 : The verdict of Indian-born fashion designer Anand Jon Alexander's case has left his family and friends devastated.

On the day of the verdict, Jon's sister Sanjana sat in the front row bench holding hands with her mother Shashi, reports Indiawest.com

On either side of them, and all along the bench behind them, were family friends, many of whom had attended nearly every day of the trial and were convinced of Jon's innocence.

However, when the court clerk was reading out the verdict, Sanjana grew distraught, tearing up and burying her head in a friend's shoulder next to her.

When the court clerk read aloud that Jon was guilty of forcible rape, the most serious charge brought against him by Jessie B. which had led to his arrest in March of last year, Sanjana doubled over, her head pressed against her knees and silently crying.

Her mother Shashi stared straight ahead, her eyes red and brimming.

A few feet away from her, dressed in a grey suit offset by a yellow tie, Jon sat stoically, his expression never changing, as he listened to the guilty verdicts piling up against him.

On Nov 13, the jury ruled that Jon lured women and girls as young as 14 to Los Angeles with promises of modelling jobs and stays at luxury hotels that were rarely fulfilled.

The 34-year-old designer, who has worked with celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Mary J. Blige, was convicted of counts, including forcible rape and a lewd act upon a child.

ANI