Source : the age
Warning: Graphic content
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of day eight of Alan Jones’ lengthy criminal trial on charges of indecent assault and sexual touching. My colleagues Clare Sibthorpe and Harriet Alexander will be bringing you the latest from the courtroom today.
The NSW Local Court in Sydney’s historic Downing Centre court building will hear today from complainant “C”, the second of six men who have accused the former 2GB host of unwanted touching and kissing over a 20-year period.
Jones denies the claims and is entitled to the presumption of innocence.
In the first week of the trial, the court heard allegations that Jones indecently assaulted “J”, a young athlete, starting with unwanted kissing and progressing to touching. On the Crown’s case, “J” was aged between 17 and 21 at the time of the nine alleged indecent assaults.
The defence case is that the alleged incidents didn’t happen.
This week, the older brother of “J” and the complainant’s ex-girlfriend gave evidence about what they said he told them about the alleged assaults, and his mother and his former coach gave evidence yesterday.
His mother testified that “J” initially told her that Jones had not touched him, before telling her the following year that he had lied. She said that she was in shock when “J” made the disclosure, and she told her son she should have protected him.
The Crown alleges that Jones indecently assaulted or sexually touched six men without their consent between 2003 and 2020, and is seeking to prove 22 charges against him.
Jones’ barrister, Gabrielle Bashir, SC, said during her opening address to the court that the credibility and reliability of the complainants’ evidence would be tested.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491.
The morning after complainant “C” says Jones made him feel uncomfortable in the spare bedroom of the then broadcaster’s Jones’ Fitzroy Falls farm, the pair had breakfast at the farm, “C” said.
He told the court Jones’ demeanour was “back to normal”.
“He wasn’t unpleasant, but there wasn’t a friendliness, a jovialness as the night before,” he said. “It was business as usual.”
Jones then prepared a briefcase for the man to take to Sydney, he said.
Once they returned to Sydney, “C” said, their relationship became a lot more “friendly, banter-y, jokey”.
“I felt like I was in his good books, for lack of a better expression,” he said.
“The dynamic had shifted a little bit – I got through the period of getting torn strips off… and now I was sort of looked after by him.”
Staying on the 2008 trip to Fitzroy Falls in the NSW Southern Highlands, complainant “C” has recalled wanting to go to sleep and Jones taking him to the “very big guest room”.
“He pulled the blanket down and said ‘this is where you are, mate’,” he said.
The man said Jones “stood around there” and that he felt uncomfortable.
Asked about Jones’ demeanour by prosecutor Georgina Wright, SC, “C” said he didn’t really say anything.
“He sort of stood there for a matter of 15-20 seconds, but it was a long time when you’re standing there looking at someone,” the man said.
“C” said that he said “good night” and Jones walked out.
Complainant “C” has told the court he drove Jones to the then broadcaster’s Fitzroy Falls farm in 2008.
The man said that he felt the “vibe” with Jones was “weird” and that it could have been described as Jones flirting with him.
“I was listening to daggy music, but he liked the music I was playing,” he said.
“We had a bit of a chat about music and how good the song was.”
Complainant “C” has been taken to a letter the Crown says was sent by Jones. He said he recalled the letter, but not specifically what it was about.
“I assumed it was something to keep me on my toes … I still don’t understand that letter,” he said.
The court heard that Jones wrote in the letter that he was “immensely concerned at your reaction to notes”.
Prosecutor Georgina Wright, SC, read out more words from the letter: “Why cars should be cleaned … kitchens should be tidy … bathrooms should be hygienic.”
“I was never allowed to do the shirts,” complainant “C” said of the ironing tasks assigned to him.
“It was always little stuff … items that if you stuffed it up it wouldn’t matter.”
While he said working for Jones was a dream, “C” told the court these were not the jobs he wanted to do for his career.
Jones’s barrister Gabrielle Bashir, SC, has raised her first objection of the day to a question about what sort of chores the complainant was required to perform for Jones.
The judge allowed the question, but as soon as the complainant began to reply that one of his jobs was “collecting wine”, Bashir re-agitated her question.
The problem, she explained, was that the butler was assigning the complainant these tasks, not Jones.
Judge Glenn Walsh denied her a second time. “Let’s not get too precious,” he replied. Once the complainant was allowed to complete his answer, it emerged that he was also asked to iron Jones’s handkerchiefs and underpants.
Each week, complainant “C” would receive a copy of Jones’ weekly commitments, he told the court.
“A lot of things would change, [but] it was a general outline of what the next week would look like,” he said.
The man said he would drive Jones to personal and medical appointments, collect his mail, and help with household chores. Jones would also ask him to cut out certain newspaper articles and file them into a folder.
Complainant “C” recalls the first time he went to Jones’ Circular Quay apartment and met Jones’ butler.
“He was very particular about how to refer to Alan,” he said of the butler.
“He insisted on me calling him Mr Jones. He was a lovely fella, but very formal. I understood he used to work for the royal family – he was ultra-professional, exactly what you’d think a butler would be.”
The complainant has recalled the first meal he made for Jones. He told the court this was one of many jobs he did as part of his role, which paid a $45,000 yearly wage.
He said he made soft-boiled eggs and cut the toast into soldiers.
“I took it to him on a tray, and it always had to be a cloth napkin over my arm … I was told it was how he liked it.”
Complainant “C” told the court working that for Alan Jones “was a dream”.
“It’s about as good as it gets,” he said.
