The cross-examination of a former teen athlete accusing veteran broadcaster Alan Jones of indecent assault can now be reported after a judge lifted a suppression order. The complainant, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, denied suggestions that he was fabricating his accounts for financial gain or attempting to portray Jones in a sinister light.
Jones, 85, has pleaded not guilty to 22 counts of indecent assault and sexual touching without consent. Six men allege that Jones subjected them to sexual misconduct between 2003 and 2020 at various locations across Sydney and the NSW Southern Highlands. The complainant in question is one of these six men.
He testified that he met Jones when he was approximately 14 years old and a rising athletics star. The former athlete accused Jones of indecently assaulting him on nine occasions as a teenager, including unwanted kisses and groping. He described an incident where Jones allegedly groped his genitals while they were driving to the NSW Southern Highlands.
During cross-examination by Jones' barrister, Gabrielle Bashir SC, the athlete was accused of lying and fabricating stories, which he denied. He stated he was doing his best to recall events that occurred up to two decades prior. While initially recalling certain details about phone and car gifts from Jones and the timeline of an alleged assault, he later conceded some of these memories might have been inaccurate or misremembered, though he maintained he had not lied.
The athlete rejected suggestions that he was trying to paint Jones with an ulterior motive or fit a specific narrative. He acknowledged that while he was sure about the indecent assaults themselves, his recollection of the exact timeline was less certain due to the passage of time. He also addressed claims that Jones had offered to increase weekly payments after alleged assaults, stating he could not definitively link these comments to specific incidents but eventually agreed that stipend increases were not tied to such remarks.
Ms. Bashir accused the athlete of trying to assert a sinister ulterior motive for payments Jones made. The complainant strongly denied this, stating, "Absolutely not." He explained that he had lost his job and was struggling financially in the period before Jones' arrest in 2024, though he denied seeing Jones' arrest as an opportunity to extract money. "I don't want anything other than proper justice from this matter," the athlete told the court.
Jones faces nine indecent assault charges related to this complainant's allegations, all of which he denies. The trial is expected to continue for several weeks.