Alan Jones Trial: Youngest Accuser Denies Push for Money
The youngest of five men who allege broadcaster Alan Jones indecently assaulted or sexually touched them between 2003 and 2020 denied in a Sydney court that his family tried to get as much money as possible from him. Asked directly about seeking financial help, he replied, "That is a lie" The Guardian.
Jones has pleaded not guilty to 21 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching, legal terms for alleged unwanted sexual contact. The trial is continuing in Sydney before Judge Glenn Walsh.
Complainant A told the court he was 17 when Jones allegedly put his tongue inside his mouth and touched him on the bottom during a visit to Jones's Southern Highlands property. The visit to the Fitzroy Falls farm came several years after he started corresponding with Jones at age 13.
He said he first wrote to Jones asking for help after his father left, a family member died, and his single mother was struggling financially. That long exchange of letters and emails became a central focus of the defence case.
Jones's barrister, Gabrielle Bashir SC, cross-examined him for two days about his mother's role in hundreds of emails sent to Jones between 2013 and 2016. Cross-examination is when the other side's lawyer tests a witness's account with detailed questions. He denied his mother wrote them. He accepted his mother supplied financial details and suggested what to write, but insisted the correspondence was largely his own work.
The court heard Jones emailed Complainant A when A was 16 saying he had provided in excess of $100,000, that the cost was out of hand and needed to end, writing "Enough is enough". Complainant A replied offering that he and his mother could start repayments to reimburse him, and Jones wrote he did not expect to be repaid.
Complainant A testified he did not consent to a kiss from Jones in 2017 and pulled away saying "Enough Alan. Good night."
Earlier stages of the trial examined financial support given to other complainants. The court heard complainant J was receiving between $450 to $600 a week from Jones for several years ABC News. Complainant J was under cross-examination on day four of the trial ABC News.
Retired 2GB host Ray Hadley briefly returned to the witness box during the proceedings ABC News. Text messages Hadley sent to an alleged victim of Jones were revealed in court ABC News.
The broader context here is how financial dependence is being tested as a question of credibility. The defence has probed in detail who wrote what, who supplied figures, and who benefited, while the complainants have maintained that assistance did not amount to consent and did not undermine their accounts.
Looking at what this means for the weeks ahead, much will turn on how Judge Walsh weighs consistency and demeanour against documentary gaps. The trial continues.
