SYDNEY, Aug 3 (Reuters) – Former Australian radio host Alan Jones arrived at a Sydney court on Monday as his high-profile trial opened on charges that he indecently assaulted and sexually touched six men.
Jones faces 22 charges after some counts were dropped during pre-trial hearings. The 85-year-old was charged in 2024 following allegations published by the Sydney Morning Herald that he had assaulted the complainants over several decades.
The alleged offences took place between 2003 and 2020 and involved six men, including one who was 17 at the time of the alleged offence. Some of the complainants knew Jones professionally or personally.
Jones has pleaded not guilty to all charges and denies wrongdoing. Television footage showed him entering the court on Monday without responding to questions from reporters.
The complainant who was 17 at the time of the alleged offence is expected to give evidence in camera on Monday in a closed courtroom, Australian media reported.
Lawyers for Jones last week lost a bid to prevent media reporting of complainants’ testimony during the trial. The judge-only trial is expected to last several weeks and the court will hear from more than 70 witnesses, media reports said.
Jones dominated Sydney breakfast radio for decades and hosted a popular programme on radio station 2GB for about 18 years until his retirement in 2020. His arrest and subsequent prosecution have attracted widespread media and public attention in Australia.
A prominent conservative broadcaster, Jones was known for his combative interviewing style. In 2019, he said then Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison should give then New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern “a few backhanders” and “shove a sock down her throat” over her views on climate change.
Jones, a former school teacher, also coached Australia’s national rugby union team, the Wallabies, leading it to a Grand Slam tour of Britain and Ireland in 1984, the only such achievement by the side to date.
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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