Alan Jones faces trial in Sydney over sexual assault allegations

Alan Jones arrived at Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court as his trial opened over allegations that he indecently assaulted and sexually touched six men. The former radio host, 85, faces 22 charges after prosecutors dropped some counts during pre-trial hearings, turning a long-running saga of allegation into a formal criminal test.

Jones was charged in 2024 after the allegations were published, and the case has been pared back from earlier, larger sets of claims during months of legal argument. ABC News reported on July 14 that pre-trial hearings were underway to nail down evidence and finalise the charges, and later said four indecent assault charges were withdrawn, leaving 22 counts for the judge-only trial.

The allegations span almost two decades, according to reporting before the trial, and have placed one of Australia’s most recognisable media figures before the court in a case watched far beyond Sydney. The Sydney Morning Herald reported on July 28 that Jones faced alleged offences against six men over almost two decades. BBC reporting that same week said the court heard allegations that Jones groped the genitals of two men while they were driving and tried to kiss several others without consent.

One witness alleged Jones lavished gifts including a car and a mobile phone on a young athlete before an alleged assault, a detail that has added weight to claims about power and access around the broadcaster. Jones built a four-decade career as a force in Australian radio and public commentary, and that prominence has made the proceedings a test not just of the evidence, but of how influence can delay allegations from surfacing and shape who is believed when they do.

The case also lands in the middle of a broader international reckoning over abuse claims against celebrity broadcasters and other powerful public figures. In Australia, where media influence and political proximity often overlap, Jones’s trial has sharpened attention on the culture that surrounded him for years and on the limits of reputation when allegations finally reach a courtroom. The legal process now turns on witness accounts, documentary evidence and the credibility of competing versions of events, with the result likely to reverberate through Australian media and political circles long after the verdict.