Alan Jones Trial: The Grooming Defence and the Power Dynamics at Stake
Complainant C, the second of six accusers in Alan Jones's indecent assault and sexual touching trial, told Sydney's Downing Centre local court on 20 August 2026 that the veteran broadcaster's verbal abuse toward him stopped once the alleged sexual behaviour began. The Guardian
Jones, aged 85, has pleaded not guilty to 20 indecent assault charges and two counts of sexual touching relating to six men. The trial began on 3 August 2026 before Judge Glenn Walsh in the NSW Local Court. ABC News
Complainant C, who worked as Jones's driver in the mid-2000s, testified that he was "reprimanded, yelled at and intimidated" during his employment. He told the court that Jones began touching his penis and kissing him during that same period. The alleged assaults occurred on eight separate occasions, according to evidence given earlier in the trial. ABC News
C told the court he could not push Jones away when kissed in lifts at work and at Jones's Macquarie Street home. He cited the power dynamic: Jones was his boss, more than 40 years his senior, and an influential industry figure who held vastly more power than a junior staffer. The Guardian
A central flashpoint in cross-examination involved text messages C sent to Jones after the broadcaster announced his retirement in 2020. C texted that he owed his career to Jones. The defence, led by barrister Gabrielle Bashir SC, argued it was "inconsistent" that C would text Jones in an explicit and intimate manner if he had been indecently assaulted. The defence also accused C of instigating flirtatious text messages. ABC News
C responded that he was "groomed to write in that manner." He said his text messages with sexual content were the result of being groomed for 10 years to think that was an acceptable way to talk with Jones. He explained the congratulatory 2020 message as "paying tribute," saying that if he had not sent it, Jones would not have liked it and it would have "blown back" on him as ingratitude. The Guardian
Bashir challenged the grooming characterisation directly, arguing that grooming happens to young children and that Jones never groomed Complainant C. C replied that grooming is "a secretive behaviour that teaches you to act a certain way," and said the grooming happened because Jones used to touch him on the penis. The Guardian
The defence pressed further on C's contacts in the media. Bashir suggested that shock jock Ray Hadley, who had been chasing Jones's breakfast radio slot in 2019, put C in contact with a journalist, and that Jones was "under pressure" when C told Sydney Morning Herald journalist Peter FitzSimons he had been indecently assaulted. The defence separately accused C of confiding in two men who "hated" Jones. ABC News
The trial has already heard from Complainant J, who told the court of a shower demand allegedly made by Jones. Complainant J's mother and ex-girlfriend were due to give evidence after a legal issue triggered an adjournment on day seven. A suppression order (a court directive that prevents the media from publishing certain details) was lifted on day five of proceedings. ABC News
C gave evidence from around 14 August 2026 and returned for further cross-examination on day 10. During that appearance, a former Jones staffer who is a complainant in the trial reacted angrily in court after being asked repeatedly whether he had fabricated his claims. Sydney Morning Herald
The broader context here is a trial hinging on contested definitions of grooming and power imbalance. Grooming typically refers to the process by which an abuser builds trust with a child to manipulate them into sexual contact. The prosecution's theory, as surfaced through C's testimony, stretches that concept beyond its conventional application to children, arguing that a subordinate adult can be conditioned over years to maintain contact and communicate in sexualised terms with the person who allegedly assaulted them. The defence strategy is equally clear: use that continued contact and the web of personal and professional relationships surrounding the complainants to argue fabrication or, at minimum, reasonable doubt. The suggestion that C's disclosures to journalists were filtered through figures with professional rivalries against Jones introduces a dimension of motive that the court will need to weigh against the substantive assault allegations. With four more complainants still to give evidence, the trial's trajectory will turn on whether their accounts corroborate the pattern C described or open seams the defence can exploit.
