Indian fashion designer Anand Jon, profiled last December in Newsweek's "Who's Next for 2007" list of people to watch, was arrested on March 6 in Beverly Hills, Calif., and subsequently charged with a seven-count felony complaint for allegedly sexually assaulting three different women between 2004 and 2007 -- including a 15-year-old girl, authorities say.

Indian fashion designer Anand Jon, profiled last December in Newsweek's "Who's Next for 2007" list of people to watch, was arrested on March 6 in Beverly Hills, Calif., and subsequently charged with a seven-count felony complaint for allegedly sexually assaulting three different women between 2004 and 2007 -- including a 15-year-old girl, authorities say.

Charges include lewd acts upon a child, forcible rape, and attempted forcible oral copulation. Jon, 33, whose legal name is Anand Jon Alexander, is being held in the Los Angeles County jail in lieu of a 1.365 million U.S. dollar bond. Jon's attorney, Ronald Richards, denies all charges and suggests any sex that took place was consensual.

"He denies any illegal sexual acts took place with any of these people," Richards told Newsweek.

On March 5, a woman listed in the complaint as Jessie B. told Beverly Hills sex-crimes detectives Jon had assaulted her the night of March 4. The woman, who was visiting Jon from the Northwest, had met Jon through MySpace and the two had e-mailed back and forth for months, according to Richards, before Jon paid for her flight to Los Angeles.

Police investigated, and arrested Jon at his North Palm Drive apartment at 8:30 on the evening of March 6 on suspicion of rape. They subsequently added sexual battery and attempted oral-copulation charges.

"Subsequent investigation revealed that there were at least three additional victims," said Lt. Mitch McCann, spokesman for the Beverly Hills Police Department. Only two of those alleged victims are included in the current charges.

Prosecutors say Jon committed lewd acts on the 15-year-old female model on March 3 and 4 -- just a day before he allegedly had forcible sex with Jessie B. And in October 2004, he allegedly raped a woman named Natalie P. who later complained to police in her home state. The case was investigated, but no charges were filed at that time, says McCann, the Beverly Hills officer.

In another sexually related case early in the decade, Jon pleaded guilty to a reduced misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace, says Richards, the attorney -- which netted Jon a three-year probation.

Richards admits Jon knew the three women but denies any sexual contact was illegal. In the 2004 case, he says, the alleged victim had also met Jon online and had flown to L.A. at his suggestion. Months later, the woman complained to police in her home that she'd had forced sex with Jon, but the story was investigated and prosecutors declined to file charges.

"This complaint was filed six months after [the alleged rape]. That's sort of a problem for her story, Richards says.

The juvenile "lewd act" consisted of touching the 15-year-old's underwear, Richards says.

"This wouldn't even be a crime if she was of age, and he certainly didn't know that she was a child," he insists, adding  the model claimed "on tape to be 18."

Jon's arraignment is scheduled for March 19 in Los Angeles. Currently, he's being held at a downtown L.A. jail where he spent the first five days sleeping on a bench in a lockup while awaiting a cell in a special housing unit.

"He's sort of shocked," says Richards. "He's never been in jail before."

Editor: Donald