Clash in court over key evidence in Alan Jones case

3 months ago 9

The prosecution in Alan Jones’ indecent assault and sexual touching case has been unable to review potential key evidence from the former broadcaster’s communication records due to an unresolved argument over whether his devices were illegally seized, a court has heard.

The disgraced former broadcaster faces 27 sexual offence charges against nine complainants at public locations such as the Opera House and a lower north shore restaurant, as well as the 84-year-old’s various homes and former workplaces.

Alan Jones arrives at Sydney airport’s domestic terminal on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, Jones learnt that he will fight the 25 indecent assault charges and two sexual touching charges in a hearing before a local court magistrate beginning next August. The court was told the hearing could last up to four months and was expected to include more than 100 witnesses.

In the Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday, it was revealed the prosecution had still not reviewed all the devices seized at Jones’ Circular Quay harbourside apartment during his arrest in November last year due to a legal issue.

Jones’ barrister Gabrielle Bashir, SC, told Magistrate Glenn Walsh they had asked the Director of Public Prosecutions not to review material regarding five electronic devices seized because they claimed the search warrant was illegal.

In response, Crown prosecutor Emma Curran said the items had not been reviewed due to the defence’s “insistence” that they not be.

Alan Jones’ barrister Gabrielle Bashir, SC, and instructing solicitor Bryan Wrench leave John Maddison Tower on Thursday.

“Police have not served any material on the prosecution from the Cellebrite ... [we] haven’t reviewed and extracted any potential evidence from these items which were taken in that search warrant”.

A Cellebrite report is a forensic document generated from data extracted from a digital device, such as a phone or computer.

This issue had prevented the DPP from serving the full brief of evidence, Curran added. Other than the items in dispute, she said that all other evidence had been provided to the defence.

Bashir asked that the issue of legality be determined so that the “unlawfulness is not perpetuated”.

“It may be that there can be no unscrambling of this egg,” she said.

Walsh said that he was not sure if the lower courts could rule on search warrant legality.

“I will need to be convinced of the power that I have to deal with the issue,” he said, setting a date in December for the officer-in-charge to provide written confirmation that the full brief of evidence had been served, and ordering the matter be returned to court in March.

It was Bashir’s first appearance at the bar table for Jones, sitting alongside instructing solicitors Bryan Wrench and Chris Murphy.

At a court appearance earlier this month, Curran said the Crown’s case contained 139 witnesses, but they would endeavour to reduce that number.

At the time, Wrench criticised the DPP for “depriving” Jones of a jury trial in the higher district court. He added that he had repeatedly asked them for “full disclosure”, but the DPP had refused to hand over the required documents or say whether the investigation was “complete”.

Strike Force Bonnefin was established to investigate the former broadcaster, teacher and Wallabies coach following a major investigation by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

In September, new details emerged about Jones’ charges, shining further light on the alleged crime scenes and circumstances.

After initially being charged with dozens of offences, several were dropped or downgraded throughout the year-long legal process, with the number of complainants involved recently dropping from 11 to nine.

Alan Jones departs Day Street Police Station in November 2024.

Court documents seen by this masthead shortly after Jones’ arrest at his luxury Circular Quay apartment outlined allegations such as fondling penises, stroking thighs, squeezing bottoms and pulling a man’s scrotum.

He was accused of committing the crimes at his former Newtown home, his harbourside apartment, his farm at Fitzroy Falls in the Southern Highlands, Tamworth in northern NSW, and other Sydney locations.

However, updated court documents seen by the Herald in September revealed further details.

They include alleging one complainant was assaulted five times at Jones’ Fitzroy Falls residence in 2004 by being kissed on the lips, having his robe undone and his underpants removed, Jones rubbing his penis against his own and touching and squeezing the complainant’s penis while masturbating.

That same man was allegedly assaulted while driving Jones to the Fitzroy Falls home and twice in Jones’ Sydney home in 2003.

In 2008, Jones allegedly assaulted a man three times at a Kiama restaurant, including having “stroked” him “on the front and back of his thigh on the outside of his clothing”, “patted” him “on the bottom on the outside of his clothing” and “pushed his body against the back of the complainant’s body, touching [his] penis on the outside of their clothing and pulling their penis”.

Also in 2008, Jones allegedly assaulted another man twice while being driven home from work, kissed him in the lift of his Sydney home three times and twice in the lift of his workplace, and touched his penis on the outside of his clothing at Gunners’ Barracks restaurant in Mosman.

In 2012, Jones allegedly assaulted another complainant at a Sydney function, touching and squeezing their bottom outside their clothing. Police say Jones “touched and grabbed” another man’s bottom at a Tamworth event in late 2013.

He is further accused of rubbing another man’s leg “up towards his crotch” during a performance at Sydney Opera House in 2014. Five years later, he allegedly touched another complainant “on the back and bottom” during a Sydney event.

Another man was allegedly assaulted in 2015 by being kissed on the corner of his mouth at a Sydney event, and again between 2018 and 2020 at Jones’ Sydney residence, when the broadcaster is accused of “pushing his body, including his genitalia, against the complainant’s upper inner thigh”.

Since his arrest, Jones has vigorously denied all allegations, earlier telling media outside court that he was “certainly not guilty” and would “be presenting my account to a jury” about the “baseless” or distorted allegations.

Jones announced his retirement from radio station 2GB in May 2020.

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