Number of Alan Jones complainants drops from six to five
Prosecutors in Alan Jones’ indecent assault and sexual touching trial have withdrawn the sole charge relating to a 17-year-old who worked in media at the time, dropping the number of complainants in the case from six to five.
Jones, 85, has been standing trial for several weeks on 20 counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual touching without consent, relating to six male complainants over 17 years from 2003 to 2020.
On Monday, prosecutors in the Downing Centre Local Court withdrew and dismissed one count of indecent assault linked to a man dubbed complainant “F” – the sole charge relating to the complainant. That means Jones now faces 21 charges relating to five men. The former 2GB heavyweight denies any of the alleged physical acts occurred.
The trial’s opening remarks foreshadowed that “F” would allege that Jones squeezed his buttock through his clothing at a news event in Sydney.
He was expected to say that he told his mother that Jones “grabbed my bum” but that he decided not to report it because he felt that nobody would believe his word over the broadcaster’s. He was aged 17 and working in media at the time.
“F” and Jones were earlier described in court as “perfect strangers”.
Prosecutors gave no further information about the application, which was formally accepted by Judge Glenn Walsh.
The development was briefly aired following the end of Monday’s evidence.
Last week the trial heard evidence relating to one count each of indecent assault and sexual touching alleged by “M”, a former athlete.
The man was in his early 20s when he started meeting Jones socially, after being interviewed by him as a young athlete. He has alleged that Jones kissed him non-consensually twice when he was in his 30s.
Jones is accused of first kissing “M” on the corner of his mouth at an event in Sydney about a decade ago.
The complainant alleges the second kiss occurred years later when he visited the radio host’s Circular Quay apartment. He told the court Jones kissed him repeatedly on the cheek, moving towards his mouth, and pressed his genitals against the complainant’s leg.
“M” spent more than three days in the witness box. On Monday the court heard from three men who were at the dinner where Jones allegedly planted the first non-consensual kiss.
The event’s host said he had no specific recollection of whether “M” was at the dinner.
He agreed with Jones’ barrister, Gabrielle Bashir, SC, that he told police he saw “nothing untoward” at the function and confirmed no complaints or reports of inappropriate behaviour were brought to his attention.
Another man said he saw Jones and “M” at the event but did not witness any kiss. He said he did not see “any real engagement or familiarity between the two”. A third witness said he could not recall if “M” was there.
The three witnesses said they would have remembered if they saw Jones kiss “M”.
Jones’ trial has now heard from three of the five complainants. A fourth complainant, dubbed “H”, is expected to testify later this week.
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.
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