The former 2GB broadcaster is looking at 22 charges for acts reportedly taking place over 17 years
A judge-alone trial has commenced at Downing Centre Local Court to determine ex-breakfast radio host Alan Jones’ fate as he faces over 20 charges.
The former 2GB broadcaster is looking at a total of 22 charges for acts involving six men which reportedly took place over 17 years – 20 for indecent assault and 2 for sexual touching. Jones has pleaded no guilty to all of them.
The six complainants are being referred to as J, C, F, M, A and H. Per J, he was a 14-year-old athletics champion when he met Jones; subsequently, Jones began financing J’s training. Prosecutor Georgina Wright SC told the court that Jones kissed J twice without the latter’s consent.
Meanwhile, C was a staff member at 2GB when he began receiving sexually explicit text messages from Jones. C maintained that he was uninterested but responded “because he was concerned about his role in the media industry”, Wright said in a statement published by the Australian Financial Review.
H claimed that Jones had touched his back and bottom after meeting him at a corporate function, which left H feeling “uncomfortable and helpless”, according to Wright.
At one point, Jones was charged with 44 offences involving 11 supposed victims; however, some significant claims were dropped before the trial and five complainants dropped out.
Jones’ barrister, Gabrielle Bashir SC, argued that Jones was at the centre of a smear campaign driven by media rivalry. She pointed to Sydney Morning Herald columnist Peter FitzSimons and senior investigative journalist Kate McClymont.
“Documentary evidence supports that Peter FitzSimons was looking for a story on Alan Jones in the second half of 2019, so was Ms [Kate] McClymont. The person who delivered was Complainant C, who worked closely with none other than Ray Hadley at 2GB, Mr Jones’ arch-rival on the airwaves who coveted his breakfast spot”, Bashir said in a statement published by the AFR.
The Australian indicated that per its understanding, the complainants would provide evidence via video rather than appear in court, while some witnesses would give evidence in closed court. The court is expected to hear from as many as 76 crown witnesses, with celebrity character witnesses set to affirm Jones’ good character.
Judge Glenn Walsh presides over the trial, which began today August 3.
