'Anand just touched her, but she screamed rape'

Anand Jon's sister says seven women who testified against him changed their statements in the jury box which got him 59 years in jail

Anand Jon's sister says seven women who testified against him changed their statements in the jury box which got him 59 years in jail

Sister act: Sanjana Jon had earlier threatened to go on a hunger strike if the Indian government did not act to save her brother. File pic

After rallying against the US judiciary and accusing them of racial bias for sentencing Indian-born fashion designer Anand Jon, 35, in a sexual assault case, the designer's family now claims that during the course of the trial all seven complainants changed their statements many times. This led to Anand's conviction, they maintain.u00a0u00a0u00a0

Changing statements
"One of the girls had earlier alleged Anand touched her undergarments, but later she said he touched her private parts. Another alleged victim had first claimed the designer touched her thigh, but then levied a charge of attempt to rape," Anand's sister Sanjana told MiD DAY from New Delhi. "It's incredulous that their statements changed from the time they were recorded by the police to three days ago," she added.u00a0

Retrial
The family will now be appealing to the Appellate Court in Los Angeles within 60 days. "It will take time, but we will appeal against the verdict. We wanted a retrial at the California Court, but our request fell on deaf ears," said Sanjana. Urging the Indian government to intervene, Sanjana has earlier threatened to go on a hunger strike if nothing is done to save her brother.

The designer was sentenced to 59 years of imprisonment on Tuesday for sexually assaulting seven young women, who were aspiring models.

Do you know?
Anand Jon has designed for Paris Hilton, Oprah Winfrey and Janet Jackson and was named by Newsweek magazine as one of the people to watch out for

Jon's downfall
The celebrity designer's fall from grace came on March 6, 2007 when he was arrested on the charge of raping a 19-year-old lingerie model with whom he had communicated via Internet for months.

Jon was initially charged with 59 counts of rape and sexual battery, but this was reduced to 16. Jon faces similar charges in New York and Texas.