Celebrity fashion designer Anand Jon Alexander was sentenced to 59 years to life in prison for sexually assaulting seven young women and girls he enticed with the promise of modeling jobs.

Jon presented an argument asking for a new trial because of juror and prosecutorial misconduct. He also alleged inadequate defence by former attorneys. Judge David Wesley denied the request. Jon stared ahead blankly as Wesley handed down the sentence. The victims, seated in the jury box during sentencing, wept.

Jon, who was a guest designer on the reality television show America’s Next Top Model, was convicted last November of 16 charges of rape, sexual assault and other crimes. Wesley handed down the maximum sentence to Jon for all but two of those counts, saying he showed no remorse for his actions and posed a danger to other young women.

Jon’s use of violence and cruelty in his assaults and his manipulation of young women also added to the seriousness of his crime, Wesley said.

“You have not convinced me that there’s a conspiracy, all right?” Wesley said when Jon continued arguing after his motion had been denied.

Deputy District Attorney Frances Young said the sentence was appropriate given the “aggravated nature of the crimes and the horrible torment on a number of victims”.

Before his arrest in 2007, Jon was lauded as an up-and-coming star in the fashion world, designing clothes for celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Mary J Blige. He was named a person to watch by Newsweek just two months before his arrest.

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