Source : the age
Warning: This blog contains discussion of legal submissions and evidence that is graphic and may be confronting for some readers.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of day one of Alan Jones’ indecent assault and sexual touching trial. I’ll be keeping you informed of the latest developments with my colleague, Clare Sibthorpe.
Jones, a former teacher, political candidate, speechwriter and coach of the Australian national rugby union team, dominated Sydney breakfast radio for decades before he retired from 2GB in May 2020.
More than four years later, in November 2024, he was arrested and charged over allegations he indecently assaulted, groped or inappropriately touched a number of young men.
His criminal trial starts today in the NSW Local Court in Sydney and centres on allegations by six men, who will give evidence over the coming weeks. Jones has always maintained his innocence and is defending the charges.
Anyone needing support can contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732), National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028, Lifeline 13 11 14, and Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800.
Alan Jones’ lead barrister, Gabrielle Bashir, SC, is delivering her opening address to the court after the Crown set out the central allegations in the trial.
“Rivalry, treachery, double-dealing, money, hatred, desperation, opportunism and more are all at the heart of this case,” Bashir says.
Bashir says rumours and allegations have been levelled at Jones for years in the lead-up to this trial.
She alleges four of the six complainants in this case “ensured their stories were part of a trial by media” but “in this court proof beyond reasonable doubt must be satisfied”.
Bashir says that her client has maintained from day one that he is not guilty of all these charges, and he will now have the opportunity to test the allegations, in particular the credibility and reliability of the complainants.
Rocco Fazzari is in court and has captured Alan Jones in court on the first day of his NSW Local Court trial on charges of indecent assault and sexual touching.
The first witness, Complainant J, will give evidence after an opening address by Jones’ lead barrister, Gabrielle Bashir, SC.
Prosecutor Georgina Wright, SC, detailed allegations involving the remaining four complainants, known as “F”, “M”, “A” and “H” before the morning tea break, which has just finished.
One of the complainants allegedly wrote a note to their mother which said words to the effect of “someone in power did something they should not have”, the court heard.
- Complainant F, who was a 17-year-old working in media, is expected to allege that Jones squeezed his buttock cheeks through his clothing at a news event in Sydney. Wright told the court that “F” told his mother that Jones “grabbed my bum” but he decided not to report it because he felt that nobody would believe his word over the broadcaster’s.
- Complainant M, an athlete, is expected to say Jones sent him fresh flowers each week for a year after he visited Jones’ apartment and made a comment about the floral arrangements. He alleges Jones hugged and kissed him on the corner of the mouth for a second or two at a public event when he was in his early 30s.
- “M” will also allege that he went to Jones’ apartment some years later and the broadcaster’s butler was not present, which he believed was unusual. He is expected to say that Jones pushed his body against his and kissed him from the cheek to the corner of his mouth. He recalled feeling Jones’ genitals pressed up against his upper inner thigh. Wright foreshadowed that “M” would give evidence that he pushed Jones back and said “okay mate” before leaving the apartment. “M” recalls this being last time he saw Jones in a social setting alone, Wright says.
- Complainant A, who was 17 at the time of the alleged offence, is expected to say Jones put his tongue inside his mouth when he was visiting the broadcaster’s Fitzroy Falls property. Wright foreshadowed “A” would say he froze and didn’t know what to do. He alleges Jones also put his hand on his bottom. The mother of “A” is expected to give evidence that her son later wrote her a note which said something like “someone in power did something they should not have”.
- Complainant H, who was aged in his early 30s, will allege Jones met him at a fundraising event in Sydney and used his hand to touch the top of his back, sliding slowly down his spine and resting his hand on the top of his bottom. “H” is expected to say he felt uncomfortable and helpless.
Alan Jones sailed past the waiting media looking every inch a man arriving for his day in court.
He wore a purple check tie with a pink shirt, pristine white cuffs angling from the sleeves of his navy blazer. He walked with the assistance of a cane, and greeted select journalists among the long queue waiting to get into court 3.1 in the grand Downing Centre complex.
Once inside the court, the defendant was installed in a special chair, flanked by his high-profile lawyers, Brian Wrench and Chris Murphy, the latter using headphones, on occasion, to listen to evidence.
Jones sat waiting for the judge, at one point twirling his cane like a Vaudeville character, fidgeting either from nerves, or impatience, perhaps, to get this whole business started and then over with.
Prosecutor Georgina Wright, SC, is outlining alleged offences involving a second man, known as Complainant C.
Alan Jones is accused of indecently assaulting “C” on a number of occasions. The former 2GB broadcaster maintains his innocence in respect of all of the charges.
“C” is expected to give evidence that Jones touched him on his penis while he was driving the radio host home from 2GB, and that on one occasion Jones asked him to take him to the underground carpark of his Macquarie Street apartment. This was different to the usual dropoff, “C” is expected to say.
Wright foreshadowed that “C” would say Jones kissed him on the lips in the apartment lift as he was holding Jones’ belongings. C did not consent to this, the Crown says.
The prosecution alleges similar conduct occurred when the men were alone in the 2GB lift.
Wright outlines other alleged incidents involving Complainant J. She says Jones asked “J” to drive him to Canberra and kissed “J” on the lips without his consent in a hotel room.
Jones allegedly told Complainant J the next day, on the drive home to Sydney, that he was going to give him more money.
On another occasion, Jones invited “J” to stay overnight at his property at Fitzroy Falls. “J” drove, at Jones’ request, Wright told the court, and Jones allegedly put his hand on the complainant’s penis during the drive, causing “J” to jump.
“J” also alleges that Jones grabbed him at the property, cuddled him and gave him a “smothering kiss”, Wright says. Jones allegedly asked if this was okay, and “J” replied words to the effect of, “no, I’ve never done anything like this with a man or been in this situation”.
“J” recalls a sudden change in Jones’ personality after this, Wright says.
Wright says complainant J will tell the court that Jones told him that he loved him, and that the young man’s problems were now Jones’ problems.
There are nine charges in the proceedings relating to “J” and they span four occasions, the court hears.
The first incident allegedly occurred after the complainant and Jones had dinner at a restaurant near Jones’ apartment, before they went to Jones’ apartment to watch the tennis.
Complainant J is expected to say that Jones stood up and hugged him, saying he loved him, and pulled him in closer to kiss him on the mouth. “J” did not consent to the kiss, Wright says.
Some time after that alleged incident, Jones allegedly spoke to the complainant about his future and his sporting ambitions, and Jones said he would pay him to focus on training.
Jones’ company gave “J” $400 per week, paid fortnightly, Wright tells the court, and the figure later increased to $500 a week and then $600 per week.
Georgina Wright, SC, is delivering the Crown’s opening address. She says Jones is charged with 22 offences related to indecent assaults and sexual touching against six complainants.
The first complainant set to give evidence, known as Complainant J, met Jones as a teenager. He was interviewed by Jones on air. He is expected to give evidence that the broadcaster later gave him a mobile phone as a gift and his phone number. They stayed in touch in the following years, Wright says.
She says complainant J will say that Jones invited him on several occasions to visit his apartment in Macquarie Street. Some years after their first meeting, Jones allegedly gave the young man a car to drive himself to sport training.
Alan Jones has arrived at court in a black sedan, accompanied by his lawyer Bryan Wrench.
Navigating a thick media scrum, Jones made his way slowly into the Downing Centre court complex where his NSW Local Court trial is set to begin at 10am.
As foreshadowed during pretrial hearings earlier this month, the Crown is seeking to rely on types of circumstantial evidence known as tendency and coincidence in Alan Jones’ criminal trial.
They will allege before Local Court Judge Glenn Walsh that Jones had a tendency to act on a sexual interest in “significantly younger” men by touching them in a professional or social context without their consent. Jones denies the allegations.
The Crown alleges that some of the six complainants in this case were “perfect strangers” who were assaulted the first time they met Jones. Other complainants, the prosecution alleges, had a platonic or professional relationship with the broadcasting veteran. Prosecutors allege he was akin to a mentor or benefactor in some cases.
The coincidence evidence seeks to draw on what the Crown has identified as similarities in some complainants’ allegations. The prosecution is seeking to rely on that evidence to demonstrate an improbability that two or more men – who are unknown to each other – would fabricate or report such similar allegations against the same person coincidentally.
Jones is entitled to the presumption of innocence and the prosecution must prove the alleged indecent assault and sexual touching offences beyond reasonable doubt.
