Terrible news on Onam. Kerala’s pride Anand Jon sentenced to 59 years imprisonment. For rape and molestation of dozens of women!
What’s the truth about the allegations?
I think most people here in Kerala were unmoved being convinced that he is guilty. If he is truly guilty of what he is accused, well, he deserves an imprisonment for two lifetime.
But after watching his sister and lawyer on the channels, and reading about the incongruities and irregularities in the legal proceedings against him, a terrible sense of tragedy is creeping in.
It is difficult to believe that he has been going up the hill and down the dale, from New York to California, raping and molesting women and minors for four years.
And they suffered it all in silence for all these years!
Could it be a case of consensual sex being misrepresented as rape by the ‘victims’ for hefty monetary compensation, as the family is claiming?
What about the absence of evidence in the form of medical tests conducted on the women? Is it true no tests were done on any of the victims except on one, and that test showed nothing to indicate rape. In that case, the case against him can only be for having sex with minors.
Which does not call for such a steep punishment.
And Anand’s Polygraph test was in his favour. No such tests were done on the victims despite Anand's offer to finance the tests.
And his team of lawyers backing out one by one, or changing sides?
All this sounds weird in the world’s most transparent judiciary system.
Is the American legal system so weak as to condemn a person on accusations that don’t have the support of evidence?
Looks like it is a case of one man’s word against 20 women's. Is quantitative weight of qualitatively weak evidence sufficient to deny a person even the benefit of a doubt?
Is this possible in the world’s oldest and strongest democracy?
Or is he really guilty? And the Indian media is soft pedaling on certain incriminating facts?
If Anand is truly guilty, will his sister go public with such daring and serious accusations as the judgment being racial in nature? Accusations which can have dire consequences on her?
What is the truth about Anand John? Will it ever come out?
How many more unknown Anand Johns are rotting in the American prisons because they don’t have the money, power and colour to fight the lobbies that’d go to any lengths to put an inconvenient competitor out of the way?
The Great American Dream!
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10 comments:
No offense to victims and families of violent sexual offenses by sexually dangerous persons, but GPS monitoring and registration under the current and potential legislation is INSANE! Please read on...
Readers, you may find this difficult to believe, I did at first, but there are kids as young as 10 on the sex offender registry for “playing doctor” no violence involved; Kids as young as 12 for pinching another kid on the butt just joking around; a long list of teens for “consensual sexual activity”, and men for public urination on the golf course; think about how many men will this one put on the registry and wearing GPS devices!
How many people, including kids as young as 14, will we allow to be prosecuted, incarcerated, subjected to barbaric and abusive treatment (see Plethysmographs, Masturbatory Satiation, Arousal Reconditioning, Cognitive Restructuring of juveniles) and then forced to register as Sex Offenders for the rest of their lives before we bring an end to this insanity?
The current legislation, although very well intended, has seriously failed the true victims of violent sexual assault crimes and their families! And, it has resulted in what a rapidly growing number of citizens believe were unintended consequences for potentially over 95% of all youth and young adults, "including young girls" who are being tried and convicted as sex offenders at an alarming rate across our nation (see Aug 6th Economist cover story: America’s Unjust and Ineffective Sex Laws).
A rapidly growing number of concerned Citizens are joining in the effort nation-wide to immediately bring an end to this insanity before an entire generation is lost and registered as sex offenders.
Legislators, please, please reconsider and change/enact legislation immediately to stop this insanity!
I'm not sure about this, but I heard that in American Judiciary you are perceived as guilty and its upto you to prove your innocence. Unlike in India where it is the other way. I'm not sure about it ok? just recollect my US friend speaking about this...
You echo my sentiments.
Your post also brought up an issue very close to my heart.
One man's word against a woman's (in this case 20)?
In a society aiming for equality, and where women fight for equal representation, why should a woman's word have more value than a man's?
If judiciary shows such partiality, can't women be bought to bear false witness? Can't a man be unjustly brought down to his knees for vendetta/hidden agendas?
And in this case we have the issue of race and colour in addition. I feel Anand Jon is fighting a losing battle if he is not guilty as sentenced.
And on this Onam day all we can hope is for justice to prevail!
Did the Mallus in America do anything for the accused? I wonder why not.
There is racism and business rivalry here, of course. The hypocritical American mindset is very much Kellogian, at least in the law books.["Plain facts for old and young: embracing the natural history and hygiene of organic life": John Harvey Kellogg, 1877]
I guess any Indian in America or for that matter, any part of the world, is subjected to Racism, either in a mild or in rare severe forms. It is the untold cruel truth .
Though the host country welcomes the immigrants with open arms, deep inside their heart they have a feeling of resentment towards Indians for having taken their jobs & working at a much lesser pay.
Some lucky ones are successful in establishing a great rapport with their foreigner colleagues, others just slog and sometimes, in return get accused,tortured and embarrassed.
In Anand Jon's case: his industry being the murky fashion world where designers exploiting models is not unheard of and the case being more sensitive as Jon being an outsider only strengthening the allegations. The upper hand will no doubt be with America. Though I am sure there are some hidden facts which the media is not showcasing, the case definitely seems to be a lopsided one.
Read this report on the Anand Jon case: http://www.laweekly.com/2008-10-09/news/the-strange-and-disturbing-trial-of-anand-jon/
This is not a case of racism but a sexual predator luring young girls from their MySpace pages into his apartment with promises of modeling jobs, getting them drunk, and forcing them into sex. This happened over and over and over again, with girls as young as 14. It does not matter if the sex was consensual, as Anand Jon claimed. In America, consensual sex with a minor is considered statutory rape, also punishable by jail. The judge is right: the world is safer with Anand Jon in jail. The case also points to the murky side of the Internet and the danger it poses to kids wanting to do anything for fame or money.
OK lets clear up a few misconceptions. in America you are presumed innocent, it is up to the prosecution to present evidence and witnesses to prove your guilt.
You as the defendant get a list of all witnesses testifying against you and a copy of all statements made to police or prosecutors and all evidence collected against you, before the trial starts.
Polygraph test are not allowed as evidence in court because they are unscientific and unreliable. A lot of time it comes out in your favor if you don't believe that you have done anything wrong even if what you did is illegal. And by the way rape is one of the hardest cases to get a conviction the prosecution is not going to charge some rich guy no matter what his color without some proof.
Adults having sex or any inappropriate contact with underage children (by men or women) in America is a very serious crime. You can expect to go to jail if it even happens just one time. If it happens more than once as in this case it is seen as a pattern of child abuse and will be punished harshly. As will a pattern of rape or sexual abuse.
As for the one man's word against 20 womens of course it weighs against him. Just because he is a man it does not make is word better or worse than that of a woman. If it had just been one women speaking against him and had no other evidence he would have gotten the benefit of the doubt. But to have 20 women/girls who do not know each other and have not previously spoken to each other, be interviewed separately and tell the police and prosecutors essentially the same story denotes a pattern of behavior, that is admissible in court.
As for his sister making accusations, she faces no consequences for that. In America you are allowed in general to state your opinion regarding a court case when it is over. The papers over here are filled with accusations of racism and other things when the judgment goes against the accused. Her only worry is that she disobeyed a court order to not contact or speak to the jurors, and did not report it when she was contacted. That is illegal.
I doubt any of his competitors had anything to do with this case. He was getting to be famous over here but he really wasn't big enough for anyone to chance going to jail over. Do you really think that the women/girls, police officers, prosecutors and judge are going to risk their careers and freedom just to put him in jail?
As for racism that is an easy charge to make when you don't have facts on your side. By the way there is a lilly white, rich American guy doing 124 for rape/sexual abuse of 3 women in California right now.
@ morgan
thanks for the information. it's cheering to learn there is a low chance of miscarriage of justice.
if the man is guilty, like you said, lt's better he is put away in prison
@ AP.
thanks for the site. i could see the other side of the picture.
@ sorpiogenius, Deepak, Shruthi
guess AP and Morgan have answered you.
@ Stoic
guess mallus in the US know more than what Indian media choose to reveal. Come to think of it, will Indian govt. keep off if there were convinced that justice is not done in this case?
the browsing i did after i posted this tells me much can be said on both sides!and i would like to believe in the judiciary system of all countries - esp where there are large number of Indians.
some hollywood films, however, tell a different tale!
Can someone please furnish the correct date/time and place of birth of Anand Jon?
Prad
@ Morgan, I thank thee. The explanation was more than acceptable. :)
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