Former conservative radio broadcaster and icon Alan Jones has been charged with 24 offences against eight alleged victims after a police investigation sparked by a series of newspaper stories.
The move by New South Wales (NSW) Police comes after a near-nine-month long investigation into Jones following the release of several articles in late 2023 by The Sydney Morning Herald detailing the allegations.
At the time, Jones’s lawyers responded with a defamation suit against The Herald hours after the first article was published.
Jones Arrested While Police Search His Home
In a statement provided to The Epoch Times, NSW Police initially arrested Jones and took him to Sydney’s Day Street Police Station following “an investigation into alleged indecent assault and sexual touching offences spanning two decades.”Charges were not laid until later in the day.
A search warrant was executed at Jones’s Circular Quay home at 1 Macquarie Street.
“In March 2024, State Crime Command’s Child Abuse Squad established Strike Force Bonnefin to investigate a number of alleged indecent assaults and sexual touching incidents between 2001 and 2019,” the police spokesperson said.
“Following extensive inquiries, at about 7.45 a.m. (on Nov. 18), Strike Force detectives executed a search warrant at a unit in Circular Quay where they arrested an 83-year-old man.
Police Call for Victims to Step Forward With More Evidence
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said news of the allegations could prompt more people to come forward.“This is a result of a very long, thorough, protracted investigation … I did visit the Strike Force some weeks and months ago to look at the work that they have been doing. It is very complex and protracted,” she told reporters.
Newspaper Publishes Several Allegations
The first media report on the sexual assault allegations against Jones arose following articles in The Herald last year. The paper is part of the Nine Newspaper group.
The stories allege Jones repeatedly used his position of power to abuse young men.
Some allegations include claims that Jones touched the genitals of young boys while he was a school teacher, and that he had assaulted numerous young men during his broadcasting career.
The story featured interviews with alleged victims, as well as anonymous sources.
Jones has consistently denied all claims against him, claiming he has been the victim of fabrications by journalists.
In 2023, his former lawyer, Mark O'Brien, spoke on Jones’s behalf, saying his client never committed the acts he had been accused of.
A Storied Career
Jones has a storied radio career and dominated Sydney morning radio talkback for decades.He was also an accomplished school teacher and coached rugby union and league.
In the 1980s, Jones led the Australian Wallabies to a major victory against New Zealand in the 1986 Bledisloe Cup.
Jones maintained a strong conservative position but also spurred controversy with his off-the-cuff comments.
In 2019 while working for 2GB radio, he called on then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison to “shove a sock down the throat” of former New Zealand leader Jacinda Ardern regarding her comments on climate change.
Jones was found to have breached media rules by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
He later wrote an apology letter to Ardern saying he “did not intend to suggest any violence towards you.”
“While I may disagree with your stance on climate change, I would never wish any harm to you.”
He would later join Sky News Australia before joining ADH TV.
