The Alan Jones Trial: What Happened in Court So Far

A former staffer at the radio station 2GB told a Sydney court on August 18, 2026, that broadcaster Alan Jones had groomed him over ten years. The criminal trial against the 85-year-old has now reached its tenth day of hearings The Guardian, 2026-08-18.

The man, called Complainant C in court, was 18 when he started working at 2GB in the mid-2000s. His job was to drive Jones. He says Jones started touching him without his consent a few years into the job. C accuses Jones of indecently assaulting him on eight different occasions while they worked together ABC News, 2026-08-14. These included incidents where Jones allegedly touched his penis and kissed him, and groped him at a lunch The Age, 2026-08-17.

Jones has pleaded not guilty to 20 indecent assault charges and two counts of sexual touching. The charges relate to six men The Guardian, 2026-08-18.

During cross-examination (when the other side's lawyer questions a witness), defence barrister Gabrielle Bashir SC asked C about explicit text messages he had sent to Jones. C told the court these messages were "consistent with someone who had been groomed for 10 years" The Guardian, 2026-08-18. Grooming is when someone builds trust with another person over time in order to exploit them.

The questioning got so repetitive that Judge Glenn Walsh stepped in. He stopped the proceeding and noted that Bashir had told the witness 16 times that the allegations were not true.

C was also asked why he kept in touch with Jones after leaving his job. He said he stayed in the relationship because Jones was still very powerful in the industry The Guardian, 2026-08-18. Jones had given C a $2,000 cheque as a wedding gift, and C had invited Jones to his wedding. In October 2019, C told rival 2GB broadcaster Ray Hadley that Jones used to kiss him and touch his penis.

The trial began earlier in August 2026 and has already heard from several complainants. On day three, the judge imposed a non-publication order, which means the court restricted what media can report 9News, 2026-08-11. Witnesses connected to the first complainant, including his mother and ex-girlfriend, were due to give evidence after a legal issue caused a delay SMH, 2026-08-13. On the ninth day, another alleged victim returned to the witness stand for further evidence 7News, 2026-08-17.

C had previously denied making up his claims during an earlier round of questioning The Guardian, 2026-08-06.

The defence strategy, based on what can be seen in the courtroom record, has focused on challenging C's credibility. The $2,000 wedding cheque, the wedding invitation, and the explicit text messages are the evidence Bashir has used to try to undermine C's account. C says these are signs of grooming, not consent. This puts the idea of grooming at the very centre of the trial. The prosecution needs the court to accept that a power imbalance over many years can cause someone to act in ways that look like willing participation, but are actually the result of manipulation and control.

Judge Walsh's decision to step in over the repeated questioning matters. In this trial there is no jury. The judge alone decides whether the evidence is convincing. So when the judge tells the defence they have made their point enough times, it can be read as a signal that further repetition may hurt their case with the very person deciding it.

The broader context matters beyond these individual charges. Jones was one of the most powerful media figures in Australia for decades. He now faces allegations from six men across multiple years. Each complainant has a different story, but the themes overlap: workplace hierarchy and the power Jones held in the industry. The trial's outcome may depend on whether the court accepts that someone can remain professionally and personally connected to a powerful figure for years while still being subjected to non-consensual conduct.