Source : Perth Now news
Prosecutors have withdrawn one charge against Alan Jones as he prepares to battle indecent assault and sexual touching allegations in a blockbuster trial later this year.
Mr Jones, 84, had previously pleaded not guilty to 27 charges – 25 counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual touching – relating to nine alleged victims between 2009 and 2020.
However the number of charges he will face at trial was whittled down in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday as prosecutors withdrew a count of indecent assault relating to one complainant.
“There are proceedings being discontinued, this happened overnight,” Mr Jones’ solicitor Bryan Wrench told the court on Tuesday.
The charge withdrawn on Tuesday related to an allegation that Mr Jones touched and grabbed the person, who can be known only as “Complainant K”, on the bottom at an event in Tamworth in 2013.
No reason was given in court as to why it was being withdrawn.
It means Mr Jones will only face charges relating to eight alleged victims when he faces a Local Court hearing, which is scheduled to begin in August and is anticipated to run for four months.
According to court documents, the alleged offences occurred in Sydney, Fitzroy Falls, Kiama, Mittagong and at his work premises and home.
Following his first court appearance in December 2024, Mr Jones strongly denied the allegations.
“I have never indecently assaulted these people,” he said at the time.
“The law assumes I am not guilty, and I am not guilty.
“I am emphatic that I’ll be defending every charge before a jury in due course.”
Mr Jones’ matter will return to court next week.
