Broadcaster Alan Jones will head to court next year to answer charges of indecent assault and sexual touching in a trial that could run for as long as four months.
The 84 year old retired broadcaster was not in court today when the dates for the trial were set to begin in August 2026 and it is expected it could run through to December.
Jones has previously entered not guilty pleas and indicated he will fight the charges and clear his name. It has been alleged that he indecently assaulted, groped and inappropriately touched nine male victims between 2003 and 2020. He is facing 27 charges, which includes 25 counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual touching.
Court documents have outlined that the alleged offences occurred in a range of locations including Sydney, Fitzroy Falls, Kiama, Mittagong, Tamworth and Jones’ work premises and home.
Earlier this year prosecutors reduced their case from eleven victims to nine, and several charges were dropped. No reason has been given for the reduction.
Initially Jones said he looked forward to the case being decided by a jury, but prosecutors have filed the case in the Local Court which means the case will be heard by a magistrate.
The broadcaster ruled Sydney’s airwaves for four decades before moving to a role at Sky News and later online broadcaster ADT.
Allegations about Jones being involved in decades of alleged inappropriate behaviour were first reported in the Nine newspapers. Jones was arrested by police in November 2023, the following month Jones denied there were any truth to the multiple allegations.
Lawyers representing the broadcaster said allegations outlined in The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald were not true and defamatory.
