Former Australian radio host and national rugby coach Alan Jones on trial for sex charges

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SYDNEY (AP) — The trial of a retired Sydney radio broadcaster and former Australian national rugby coach accused of sexual offenses against six men and boys over two decades began on Monday.

The 85-year-old has pleaded not guilty to 20 counts of indecent assault and two of sexual touching without consent. The offenses were allegedly committed between 2003 and when he retired from radio in 2020 at various locations in Sydney and at his farm on the Southern Highlands in New South Wales state.

Jones and his lawyers did not answer reporters’ questions as they arrived at the Downing Center Local Court in Sydney on Monday morning. The trial is expected to hear more than 70 witnesses and continue for months.

Jones opted to be tried by Judge Glenn Walsh without a jury. None of the six complainants can be identified for legal reasons.

Prosecutor Georgina Wright said in her opening address that one of the complainants was about 16 years old and a budding sports champion when he first met Jones.

Jones is accused of committing nine offenses against the man, including kissing him multiple times without consent and touching the man’s genitals while the man was driving.

The complainant “felt trapped and didn’t know what to do,” Wright told the court.

Another complainant, who was 21 years old and worked on Jones’ radio program, would testify that Jones called him “darling” and groped the man while he was driving, Wright told the court.

Jones has repeatedly denied the allegations since he was arrested in 2024.

“These allegations are either baseless or they distort the truth,” Jones said a month after his arrest.

Jones hosted a popular Sydney breakfast radio show for close to two decades. He was regarded as one of the most powerful people in Australian media.

He was also a successful coach of the Australian national rugby team, the Wallabies, for four years from early 1984. The team won 86 of their 102 matches under his leadership.

Jones was also influential in conservative politics and was a speechwriter for Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser. Fraser was in power from 1975 until 1983. He died in 2015.

Police set up a strike force to investigate Jones after The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported in 2023 that Jones used his position of power, first as a schoolteacher and later as a popular broadcaster, to prey on a number of young men.