Alan Jones, the 85-year-old former Australian radio broadcaster and national rugby coach, pleaded not guilty to 22 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching as his trial began on 3 August 2026 at the Downing Centre local court in Sydney. Judge Glenn Walsh is presiding over proceedings expected to last four months and hear from 76 witnesses (The Guardian).

The charges break down into 20 counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual touching. Prosecutors will argue that six men, all significantly younger than Jones at the time, were indecently assaulted by him between 2003 and 2020. The Crown's central claim is that none of the alleged victims consented to the conduct (The Chronicle). Prosecutors also alleged in opening statements that Jones groped two men while driving with them (BBC).

The first complainant, identified as J, is a champion athlete who was 14 when he met Jones. J gave evidence via CCTV and told the court that Jones first contacted him through his coach, inviting him to visit his home on multiple occasions while J was still at school. J also said he visited Jones at his 2GB studios in Pyrmont and mentioned that his mother was a single mother.

J testified that Jones gave him a mobile phone, a car, and up to $600 a week in cash. He told the court he had a girlfriend at the time and had discussed this with Jones.

The most specific allegation from J's first day of testimony centred on an evening at Jones's Macquarie Street apartment. After a Chinese meal, while the two were watching tennis, J said Jones made comments about the size of an athlete's penis, stating he "had a big cock." J told the court he took the remark as his cue to leave. Jones then hugged him and said, "I love you mate." J said he replied with words to the effect of "I love you too, you've done a lot for me."

J then alleged that Jones put his arm out for a cuddle, pulled him slightly towards him, and gave him a "peck kiss on the lips." When prosecutor Georgina Wright asked J whether he consented to being kissed on the mouth that night, J replied, "No, I wasn't given the opportunity." J said he did not kiss Jones back and "froze," and that the kiss lasted "half a second" before Jones's demeanour shifted from "passionate I love you" to "business mode." J walked out and caught the train home.

J is the first of six complainants expected to give evidence. The legal framework behind the charges reflects a legislative change: in 2018, the offence of indecent assault was replaced by sexual touching, which carries a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment. The alleged conduct spans both the pre- and post-2018 legal regimes, meaning the 20 indecent assault charges relate to conduct alleged to have occurred before the legislative replacement, while the two sexual touching charges cover conduct alleged thereafter.

Jones's defence barrister, Gabrielle Bashir SC, mounted an aggressive opening that sought to reframe the origins of the complaints. Bashir argued that the alleged victims were encouraged to complain by media rivals of Jones, naming shock jock Ray Hadley and Sydney Morning Herald columnist Peter FitzSimons. Bashir alleged that FitzSimons harboured an intense dislike of Jones, encouraged complainants to come forward, and passed information to Sydney Morning Herald investigative reporter Kate McClymont.

This defence strategy adds a media-rivalry dimension to the trial, attempting to place the complaints within the landscape of competitive Australian media rather than as spontaneous allegations. Whether Judge Walsh finds the evidence supports that framing will be a central question over the coming months.

The broader context here is the scale and duration of the proceedings. A four-month judge-alone trial with 76 witnesses and six complainants is among the more substantial criminal trials to be conducted in a local court jurisdiction in New South Wales. The choice of a judge-alone trial, rather than a jury, means the evidentiary contests will be weighed by a single judicial officer rather than by lay jurors. This can streamline complex multi-complainant proceedings but also concentrates the assessment of credibility in one decision-maker. For practitioners following the case, the defence's decision to name specific journalists and alleged intermediaries in opening statements signals a strategy that will likely require cross-examination not only of complainants but of media figures themselves, potentially broadening the trial's evidentiary scope well beyond the six complainants' direct allegations.

Jones, who built a decades-long career as a dominant voice on Sydney talkback radio at stations 2UE and 2GB and previously served as coach of the Australian national rugby team, faces proceedings that will unfold against the backdrop of his public profile. The trial continues.