Daily London
Lawyers for controversial talkback radio host Alan Jones have flagged a possible application to suspend his sexual abuse case amid a dispute over his electronic devices seized a year ago.
The 84-year-old has pleaded not guilty to 25 charges of indecent assault and two charges of sexual touching against nine alleged victims at a time when he dominated airwaves.
He is due to fight the allegations at a hearing beginning in August 2026, but his barrister told Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court she was still awaiting important information.
“That is, in our submission, an unsatisfactory state of affairs,” Gabrielle Bashir SC said today.
Crown prosecutor Emma Curran argued police had served all of the evidence in their possession, but they had not yet extracted data from five electronic devices seized during Jones’ arrest.
The former shock jock raised concerns about the legality of the search on his home and the seizure of the devices, which he claims are protected from disclosure by legal and journalistic privilege.
The electronic devices have not been searched as a result of the concerns communicated by his legal team, the court was told.
“What flows from that is the police are not in the position to serve the entirety of the brief of evidence until those (electronic) items have been reviewed,” Ms Curran said.
Ms Bashir contended she had repeatedly asked for material in relation to the search and seizure at her client’s home to no avail.
The prosecution was obliged to share the information, which could be relevant to an application to stay the proceedings, she said.
The suggestion that the prosecution was withholding any exculpatory material was strongly rejected by Curran.
Magistrate Glenn Walsh ordered that the brief of evidence against Jones be served on his lawyers by December 19 and adjourned the dispute surrounding disclosure until next year.
Jones was arrested in November 2024 after an eight-month police investigation into historical sexual assault.
He is accused of sexual misconduct against nine complainants between 2003 and 2020, in private as well as places including restaurants, events and the Sydney Opera House.
Two of the alleged victims were driving the former teacher around when he indecently assaulted them, according to prosecutors.
The charges, which he has claimed are “all either baseless or they distort the truth”, followed a hugely influential broadcasting career launched in 1985.
Jones became a feared interviewer who excelled at questioning leaders while dividing audiences with his outspoken views.
He worked with Sydney radio station 2UE before joining rival 2GB, where he was a long-time ratings juggernaut until 2020.
Alongside a failed tilt at politics, he also coached the Australian national men’s rugby union team through some historic achievements between 1984 and 1988.
