Alan Jones trial: mother of youngest complainant kept seeking his advice after alleged assault
At the Sydney trial of Australian broadcaster Alan Jones, the mother of the youngest complainant said she kept corresponding with him after her son's alleged assault because she feared losing his financial support. The defence argues she wanted more money from him.
A Sydney court heard on Friday, 23 October, from the mother of the youngest alleged victim in the trial of Australian broadcaster Alan Jones. She said she continued to correspond with Jones and seek his advice even after her son was allegedly indecently assaulted at the broadcaster's farm at Fitzroy Falls. The Downing Centre court is hearing charges against Jones, 85, of indecent assault and sexual touching.
The charges
Jones has pleaded not guilty to 21 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching. Five men allege he touched them sexually or indecently assaulted them between 2003 and 2020, and all five have now finished giving evidence. The woman's son, referred to as complainant A, was 17 when Jones allegedly kissed him and put his tongue in the teenager's mouth.
The mother's explanation
The divorced witness told the court she had developed a pattern of not trusting herself and that she was "in a web of dependency" with Jones. She said she kept writing because she knew he had an opinion about everything. She had earlier said she feared Jones would withdraw his financial support.
Defence questions
In cross-examination, defence barrister Claire O'Neill suggested the mother kept in touch not out of fear but because she wanted more money from Jones. The witness agreed she had written to him about her son's late university application, a superannuation payment, outstanding legal fees and a Sydney Cricket Ground membership for her son. She also said she sent him information on the cost of repairs to her Land Rover, but denied asking him to pay. She rejected the suggestion that she had lied to the court, calling it "rubbish".
She became emotional when asked why she had told Jones about the deterioration of her relationship with her son. She said her son had suffered trauma as a child and told no one. Asked by prosecutor Georgina Wright what the trauma was, she replied that she was referring to what happened to him at Fitzroy Falls. The trial continues.
