LOS ANGELES, Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) - An Indian-born celebrity fashion designer has been charged with sexually assaulting 20 women in a new indictment that includes two more alleged victims, Los Angeles authorities said Thursday, October 2nd.

Anand Jon - Photo : AFP

Anand Jon Alexander, 33, is accused of sexually assaulting 20 women from nine US states and two countries, whose ages range between 14 to 27, from November 2002 to March this year.

The new indictment, which was unsealed Thursday, includes 54 felony counts and five misdemeanors.

Alexander, who is being held without bail, will be arraigned in Los Angeles Superior Court on October 25, said the District Attorney's spokeswoman, Jane Robison. Prosecutors have asked the court that bail be set at 5.1 million dollars.

Prosecutors accuse Alexander of setting up a fashion design studio in Beverly Hills to lure models and sexually assault them. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.

He was arrested in March after a woman reported that she was sexually assaulted by the designer at this Beverly Hills apartment, authorities said. He is also being investigated in Texas, New York and Massachusetts.

The New York-based designer first pleaded not guilty on all counts at a hearing in April.

Alexander graduated from the prestigious Parsons School of Design and launched his own label at New York Fashion Week in 1999.

He is reported to have dressed celebrities such as Hilton hotel heiresses Paris and Nicky Hilton, Mary J. Blige and Norah Jones.

According to Alexander's website, he is the winner of various fashion awards including a 2002 People's Choice "Best New Designer" prize.