Jones allegedly commented on sprinter’s penis before giving teenager ‘peck kiss on the lips’, court hears
Ben Doherty
J has given evidence about an alleged visit to Alan Jones’s Circular Quay apartment not long after the teenager returned from an athletics competition.
J told the court was he was sitting on the couch while the pair discussed athletics and some of J’s competitors and compatriot athletes.
Discussing sprinters, Jones allegedly said a sprinter – which Guardian Australia has chosen not to name – has “got a big cock”.
J told the court:
double quotation markI took that as my cue to leave. I said it was late, time to go.
J alleged that Jones put his arm out for a “cuddle”.
J alleged:
double quotation markHe pulled me slightly towards him and gave me a peck kiss on the lips.
Prosecutor Georgina Wright asked J:
double quotation markDid you consent to being kissed on the mouth that night?
He replied:
double quotation markNo, I wasn’t given the opportunity.
Updated at 23.45 EDT
Key events
Amanda Meade
Complainant J has alleged that Jones made a weekly deposit of $400 a week into his bank account and told him he didn’t have to tell anyone because it was a gift.
In earlier evidence, J described a high-profile event he attended where he was seated with multiple high-profile people, including the then prime minister.
Updated at 23.55 EDT
Jones allegedly commented on sprinter’s penis before giving teenager ‘peck kiss on the lips’, court hearsBen Doherty
J has given evidence about an alleged visit to Alan Jones’s Circular Quay apartment not long after the teenager returned from an athletics competition.
J told the court was he was sitting on the couch while the pair discussed athletics and some of J’s competitors and compatriot athletes.
Discussing sprinters, Jones allegedly said a sprinter – which Guardian Australia has chosen not to name – has “got a big cock”.
J told the court:
double quotation markI took that as my cue to leave. I said it was late, time to go.
J alleged that Jones put his arm out for a “cuddle”.
J alleged:
double quotation markHe pulled me slightly towards him and gave me a peck kiss on the lips.
Prosecutor Georgina Wright asked J:
double quotation markDid you consent to being kissed on the mouth that night?
He replied:
double quotation markNo, I wasn’t given the opportunity.
Updated at 23.45 EDT
Broadcaster praised teenager’s ‘athletics career’ and gifted him a silver Nokia phone, court hears
Alan Jones first met complainant J when he was 14 years old and a star school athlete and “praised” him about his sports ability, the court has heard.
Complainant J, whose case accounts for nine of the 22 charges, has alleged the offending against him began in 2003 when he was 17-years-old and spanned into 2004.
J, who is being questioned by the prosecution, told the court that Jones:
double quotation markPraised me about my athletics, asked me about my athletics career, it was all about athletics, and what school I went to, he asked about my family.
He told Jones he was from a single-parent family, living in Sydney, the court heard.
J alleged that at the end of the meeting, Jones held his arms out – making an embracing gesture – “and he gave me a cuddle”.
The pair allegedly had a second meeting as J continued to excel in his sporting career. J was still at high school “under 17 years of age”, the court heard.
At that meeting Jones allegedly gave him a box and inside was a silver Nokia phone, the court heard.
Jones allegedly said “that’s a gift for you” so they could keep in contact. J told the court that he thanked Jones and was “grateful”.
Updated at 22.49 EDT
Complainant J gives evidence via closed circuit TV
The public and non-accredited media have now been ushered out of the courtroom as the first of Alan Jones’ alleged victims, complainant J, appears via a closed circuit television to give his evidence from a location outside the courtroom.
The court is closed to the public for J’s evidence.
But media are allowed to remain inside the courtroom to hear and report his evidence. We cannot identify him in any of our reports for legal reasons.
A reminder of our warning that this live blog may contain graphic content when discussing evidence in the trial.
Updated at 22.17 EDT
Amanda Meade
Jones’s lawyer alleges complainants were egged on by media rivals
Gabrielle Bashir SC has alleged in the defence of Alan Jones that the complainants were egged on to complain about Jones by media rivals.
This included, Bashir alleged, shockjock Ray Hadley and Sydney Morning Herald columnist Peter FitzSimons.
Bashir alleged FitzSimons harboured an intense dislike of Jones and encouraged complainants to make complaints about Jones.
Bashir also alleged that FitzSimons passed information to the Sydney Morning Herald’s investigative reporter Kate McClymont.
Bashir alleged:
double quotation markFitzSimons was looking for a story and so was Kate McClymont.
Bashir then alleged Hadley “wanted to destroy” Jones and “tear him apart”.
“This story sold newspapers,” Bashir alleged to the court.
Updated at 22.19 EDT
Ben Doherty
The defence had received a “little bundle of dynamite” that it obtained under force of subpoena, Gabrielle Bashir SC has told the court.
Updated at 22.00 EDT
Ben Doherty
Alan Jones’s lawyer says ‘opportunism’ at the heart of the case
Turning to the defence’s opening argument now, which is being given by Alan Jones’s lawyer, Gabrielle Bashir SC.
Bashir SC has alleged that “Rivalry, treachery, double-dealing, money, hatred, desperation, opportunism and more” are “at the heart of this case” before telling the court that the credibility and reliability of the complainants would be tested.
Bashir said this would include:
double quotation markWhat they [the complainants] did not tell the police, what they left out of their statements.
We have discovered … concoction, contamination and reconstruction.
He alleged:
double quotation markRivalry, treachery, double-dealing, money, hatred, desperation, opportunism and more are all at the heart of this case.
Bashir told the court that for years “rumours allegations and innuendo” have been thrown at Alan Jones but “trial by media” is very different from a trial in a court.
Bashir said:
double quotation markBeyond reasonable doubt must be satisfied.
Gabrielle Bashir SC last year. Photograph: Steven Markham/AAPShare
Updated at 22.35 EDT
Returning to the prosecution’s argument for a moment before we bring you updates from Alan Jones’s legal team’s opening argument, which I’m told has begun.
Jones is accused of indecently assaulting complainant J after he allegedly got into a bed with J, pulled him close and then kissed him.
The court heard during the prosecution’s opening argument that J, after being asked by Jones if he was OK, said he had never done anything like this before.
Jones then allegedly grabbed J’s penis before taking out his own.
J was 17 at the time the alleged offending began in 2003 and carried into 2004.
Updated at 21.53 EDT
A break from the evidence to let you know there has been a technical failure in the courtroom’s systems for this high-profile trial.
There is no working audio-visual link of the opening arguments, despite assurances from the court there would be.
This has meant we’ve had to rely on our reporters inside the court room for live updates.
We’re told the team that manages media in the local court is scrambling to fix the issue.
But because this is a local court matter, there is no associate that they can contact to alert them that there’s an issue with the system.
Updated at 21.32 EDT
Amanda Meade
The opening from the prosecution has finished.
Judge Glenn Walsh is dealing with outstanding subpoenas before the court hears from the defence.
ShareAmanda Meade
Prosecutor details relationship between Jones and teenage athlete
Wright is now detailing the alleged relationship between Alan Jones and complainant M, who met Jones when he was a 15-year-old accomplished athlete.
The court has heard he invited complainant M to dinner and when he complimented him on the tableware Jones sent him a gift of the same tableware.
On another visit when complainant M complimented the flowers, Jones allegedly sent him fresh flowers each week.
The court heard Jones referred to the young man as “handsome man”, “superstar” and “champion”.
Updated at 21.45 EDT