Alan Jones: Teenage complainant set to testify in veteran broadcaster’s trial
As Alan Jones's sexual touching trial enters its third month, a man is due to speak about alleged abuse when he was aged 17.
A fifth and final complainant will tell a court how he was allegedly indecently assaulted by talkback titan Alan Jones as a teenager.
He is one of five men who allege Jones kissed, groped, or subjected them to sexual misconduct in either Sydney or the NSW Southern Highlands between 2003 and 2020.
The complainant wrote to Jones about his family’s financial difficulties, crown prosecutor Georgina Wright SC told a Sydney court in her opening address in August.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.She foreshadowed the court would hear the veteran broadcaster agreed to help and later invited the 17-year-old to visit his house in the NSW Southern Highlands.
During the visit, Jones - who was in his mid-70s at the time - allegedly kissed the teen on the mouth and touched his bottom.
The teen did not initially report the incident but later wrote a note to his mother saying “someone in power did something they should not have,” Ms Wright said in her opening statement.
Jones’s barrister Gabrielle Bashir SC has argued the teenager’s mother encouraged him to make the complaint after learning Jones would no longer pay the family’s bills.
Jones has pleaded not guilty to 21 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching without consent, maintaining none of the alleged incidents occurred.
The 85-year-old maintains the allegations against him are concocted, and several of the alleged victims are unreliable.
“Rivalry, treachery, double dealing, money, hatred, desperation, opportunism and more are at the heart of this case,” Ms Bashir declared in her opening statement.
Jones rose to prominence as the coach of the national men’s rugby union team, the Wallabies, before turning to broadcasting in 1985, becoming one of the nation’s most influential media figures.
He retired in 2020 - the same year as the last of the allegations against him is said to have taken place.
The trial, which began on August 3, is slated to continue into November and possibly December.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
