A former student sports star has denied in a Sydney court that he “fabricated” indecent assault allegations against broadcaster Alan Jones. The complainant, identified as J, was cross-examined on Wednesday regarding his claims.
Jones’s defence barrister, Gabrielle Bashir SC, suggested J had a financial motive to report the alleged indecent assaults 20 years after the incidents, particularly after he lost his police job and faced “extremely hard times.” J, a former police officer now in his 40s, had previously told Sydney’s Downing Centre local court that Jones had sexually touched him when he was a teenager.
J denied trying to assert that Jones had an ulterior motive for making payments to him, which included a Nokia mobile phone, a Nissan car, and a stipend that rose from $350 to $600 a week over nine years. He agreed that these payments were for assisting with his training, competition, and living expenses.
The court heard that J resigned from the police after being convicted of assault and breaching the force’s code of conduct. Bashir suggested J's financial problems, including losing a $120,000 annual income and having to pay child support and rent, were relevant to his complaint, implying it could be a “stepping stone to civil proceedings.”
J told the court he decided to contact NSW police about the alleged assaults after seeing media reports of Jones's arrest and charging in November 2024. He denied that he had decided to fabricate claims at that point, stating, “No, I wasn’t planning to fabricate anything.” J also denied being motivated by financial compensation, stating he only wanted justice.
Bashir alleged that J gave false statements to police regarding when Jones gifted him the phone and car, and suggested his claim that Jones increased his weekly stipend after he had “been a good boy” was also a fabrication. J agreed that he did not raise the allegations when he was charged with drink driving in the mid-2000s or with assault in the early 2020s, or when he faced termination from the police force.
Jones has denied all wrongdoing, stating the allegations are either baseless or distort the truth. The trial continues.