Key facts
- A former student sports star, complainant J, denied fabricating indecent assault allegations against broadcaster Alan Jones.
- Jones's defense barrister Gabrielle Bashir SC suggested J had a financial motive for reporting the alleged assaults.
- J stated Jones provided him with financial support, including a car and weekly stipends.
- Jones faces 22 indecent assault and sexual touching charges and has pleaded not guilty.
- J agreed that he did not raise the allegations when facing other legal issues or termination from the police force.
During a robust cross-examination in a Sydney court, a former student sports star, identified as complainant J, denied fabricating indecent assault allegations against broadcaster Alan Jones. Jones faces 22 charges and has pleaded not guilty.
Jones's defense barrister, Gabrielle Bashir SC, suggested that J, a former police officer now in his 40s, had a financial motive to report the alleged assaults, which occurred two decades ago. J had previously testified that Jones sexually touched him when he was a teenager and that Jones provided him with financial support, including a mobile phone, a car, and a weekly stipend that increased over nine years.
Bashir questioned J about whether he was trying to assert that Jones had an ulterior motive for the payments, which J denied. J accepted that the payments were intended to assist with his training, competition, and living expenses. The court heard that J resigned from the police force after being convicted of assault and breaching the force's code of conduct, leading to a loss of income and financial difficulties.
Bashir argued that a successful complaint could be a stepping stone to civil proceedings, allowing J to make a claim and cast himself in a different light after losing his job. J denied fabricating claims when questioned about his decision to report the alleged assaults after seeing media reports of Jones's arrest. He also denied having a gambling problem.
J agreed he did not raise the allegations during previous legal issues, including drink-driving charges and charges related to assault. He stated he was not seeking financial compensation but only justice. Bashir alleged J provided false statements to the police regarding the timeline of gifts from Jones, and J conceded that some details about when he received a car and phone were inaccurate at the time of reporting.